


Of Redhead and Pranksters

by hawthornbrooke



Series: The Cassiopeia Trilogy [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexuality, Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Death, References to Depression, School Dances, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:54:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 30,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21516376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hawthornbrooke/pseuds/hawthornbrooke
Summary: NEWTs are just a year away, everyone is acting stupid with hormones and new adventures are lying around the place. Sixth year at Hogwarts affects everyone differently, and Cassie is ready to tackle it, even with all the heartache and conflicted feelings that may come with it.As long as she has her friends by her side,Cassiopeia Moore can do anything she sets her mind to.
Relationships: Angelina Johnson/Fred Weasley, George Weasley/Original Female Character(s), Original Female Character(s)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Cassiopeia Trilogy [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1550830
Kudos: 14





	1. Prologue

"Hello, mum. It's been a while."

The graveyard was eerily quiet, only a soft voice could be heard amid the grey tombstones that littered every inch of it. A red head was the thing that stuck out the most, belonging to a sixteen-year-old that stood in front of a white grave with the words _Diana Moore (1960-1993): May we meet again_ engraved on it.

A sob made its way through her throat and echoed in the crisp morning air, making the teenager's body arche slightly.

"I've missed you." Her voice was sincere, pain tinging every word. "This year has been crazy... I-I met dad."

The silence that followed let her room to breathe for a second, and then the words just poured out of her mouth.

"Everyone believes he's a criminal and wants to kill Harry Potter, but I talked to him. You must know the story though... Remus said you never stopped believing in him. I... I also met the Weasleys, they're so nice, invited me to the Quidditch World Cup and all. But I'm staying with Remus and dad this summer, we've got a lot to catch up to do. And Angelina and Alicia are my best friends, I wish you'd met them. You'd talk about how kind they look and how good they are for me, I know it."

She fiddled with the bouquet in her hands, caressing slowly the yellow petals.

"Anyways, this is for you. You loved sunflowers, so I bought you some."

The bouquet rested at the feet of the tombstone. Teardrops started to fall, creating a pattern on the grey stone, and the red-headed girl turned around, drying her watery eyes with the back of her hand.

A soft, almost inaudible sound was heard, getting closer. She reached out a hand, sinking it on the black fur that covered her father's back.

"I was just going." She whispered.

The dog bowed its head and nudged her thigh in a comforting way, its grey eyes big and sad. They stayed like that for a while, silently holding each other from falling apart. Finally, the girl patted him one last time and started to walk slowly towards the old fence that surrounded the cemetery, opening and closing it behind her, leaving the black dog standing out among the bright green grass.

As she walked out to the small path that led towards the main road, a loud rumble resounded on the distance, signalling the start of a summer storm. A small smile made its way into her face, sadness still tinging her eyes.

Everything would be alright eventually, and Cassiopeia Moore knew it.


	2. One

"Do you have your winter cloak?"

"Yes."

"Your books?"

"You were the one who packed them."

"Your...?"

"Yes, Remus, I have everything!"

The middle-aged man eyebrows furrowed slightly, but there was a sad smile on his lips. Before him, Cassie smirked amusedly, hands into the pockets of the worn out leather jacket that had belonged to none other than Sirius Black.

A black dog leaped around then, surrounding the odd pair. Cassie chuckled.

"Always wanting to be the centre of attention." Remus Lupin smiled, petting the animagus on the head and earning a bark on response.

"I'll be okay, I promise." The redhead said suddenly, her tone slightly serious. Both the man and the dog looked at her, seriousness present in their eyes as well.

"Remember to write so we know you are alright."

"Will do!"

The whistle of the scarlet train echoed around the crowded platform, signalling that it was time to get on board. Cassie enveloped Remus and Sirius in a quick hug and broke out in a sprint, entering the first open door she saw.

"Bye!" She shouted, waving away the two men, who stood in the platform only slightly tearing up.

Students crowded the narrow train hallways, making it difficult for the sixth year to wade through them. She hadn't seen nor talked to any of her friends in the last few weeks, which made her quite nervous.

However, as soon as a mop of fiery red hair became visible, all her doubts disappeared into thin air.

"I mean, it wasn't easy, I did what I could..."

He was leaning next to one of the windows, his body language carefully composed. His right hand rested at the back of the head, in a sheepish manner, but, although Cassie couldn't see it from where she stood, she was convinced that a cheeky grin was making its way through his lips.

The girl in front of him let out a giggle, twirling a blonde strand of hair between her fingers. Clearly, it was working, which meant it was time for her to intervene.

"And did you puke before or after that?"

His whole body tensed up as the freckled boy turned around in surprise, his whole face lightning up at the sight of the redhead.

"Cass!"

Cassie chuckled, allowing herself to be engulfed in a giant Weasley hug.

"Hi there handsome." She joked, swatting him in the shoulder lightly as he laughed as well. "Was that flirting I heard?"

Fred Weasley started to redden but covered it up quickly with one of his trademark mischievous smirks.

"Jealous, Moore?"

"As if."

The train shook, and both teens agreed to go into a compartment as to avoid any possible casualties, especially since Cassie seemed to be the clumsiest girl in the whole world.

"So," She started, a playful smile on her lips, "World Cup hero, huh?"

"Shut up."

"I'm just saying..."

"Shut. Up."

Laughing, they finally reached the infamous compartment that the twins hogged every year. It was singed in some places, and there were small things carved everywhere, mostly their names and surnames. Cassie entered just behind Fred, quickly eyeing the four people that sat inside; all of them very familiar to her.

"My, my, this is a sight for sore eyes." The loud voice of Lee Jordan soon reached their ears.

Grinning broadly, the redhead quickly reached up and let herself be enveloped in a hug by the dark-skinned boy, who messed playfully with her hair before letting go. After him were Alicia and Angelina, who squealed and almost smothered her with their excitement. However, even though Cassie had been happy and thrilled to see her friends, nothing made her heart leap as the sight of George, the last of all of them.

He, as well as his brother, had grown almost an inch taller over the summer. His hair fell messily over his head, and his grin seemed to light up the place. When his arms rounded her body, Cassie felt warm and nice. She always liked George's hugs.

"Hi."

Her voice sounded breathless, but nobody seemed to notice.

"Hey there, Cass."

As the newcomer settled in, right next to the window with her legs resting on George's lap, Lee took out a deck of cards, seemingly out of nowhere, and soon they were all immersed on an Exploding Snap game.

Hogwarts castle greeted them, its numerous windows shining brightly in the dark Scottish sky. Cassie entered through the giant doors among her friends, quickly scurrying by the hall to get the best seats in the Gryffindor table, which were, of course, the ones furthest away from the teacher's table. As the Great Hall filled up with students, the three girls commentated on the newest addition to the faculty -it being just an empty space where Remus Lupin had sat last year.

"Maybe Dumbledore hasn't found a new DADA teacher yet?" Alicia suggested, eyeing the old Headmaster, who quietly talked to Professor Snape.

"Nah, don't think so." Said Angelina airily. "He always finds some nutter that wants to accept the job... remember Lockhart?"

The three of them sniggered lightly, earning a look from the Weasley twins and Lee, who were huddled together taking about God-knows-what.

"Lupin was cool, though." Cassie added, smiling at the thought of her godfather.

"I miss him, he was the best." Angelina agreed, as Alicia nodded.

"Let's hope for the best this year." She said, glancing once more at the teachers table.

"Fingers crossed."

The room fell silent as the Headmaster stood up, warmly smiling at everyone. The sorting had just finished and, while Dumbledore gave his welcoming speech, Cassie zoned out for a minute, not really wanting to hear the same words he had said just a year ago. However, she quickly looked up from the blank spot she was looking at when gasps and murmurs filled the room.

"What?" She asked Angelina, on her right. The brunette looked starstruck and said nothing.

Her gaze then travelled to the boys, who also looked pretty shocked. Cassie was about to speak up again, when thunder echoed in the room, the gale outside becoming heard for the first time. Confused, the redhead turned towards the huge doors that had just banged open, staring in surprise at the cloaked figure that stood there.

It was the strangest man she'd ever seen. He had only one good eye, the other was a crystal eyeball that rotated swiftly on its socket and gave her the impression that it was carefully surveying every single one of them. As he walked towards the teachers table, the _clunk_ of a wooden leg could be heard all over the Great Hall, and everyone looked intently at him as he disposed of his cloak and started eating a sausage without saying anything out loud.

"May I introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?" said Dumbledore brightly into the silence. "Professor Moody."

"Well, there you have it." Alicia whispered, making her friends dissolve into fits of laughter. "It gets better each year."


	3. Two

The Gryffindor common room was completely deserted when Cassie walked into it at seven in the morning the next day. She didn't usually wake up that early, but once she awoke, sleep wasn't an option anymore. The twins weren't likely to wake up anytime soon, and neither were the girls, so the redhead decided to go to the Great Hall and see how much bacon she could eat until they arrived. It sounded like a good plan.

Very few people were scattered around the hall, each on their own tables yawning or talking quietly with her friends. To Cassie's disgust, Crowe was already there, making a full on show of telling something _very_ secret and _very_ important to some of her closest friends. The Gryffindor girl scrunched up her nose and sat with her back to the Slytherin table, focusing instead on the delicious food that piled up in the table.

"Good morning sunshine!"

George Weasley's voice startled her half an hour later. He and his grinning twin quickly sat down next to Cassie, piling up eggs and sausages onto their respectable plates. How the two of them were always in a good mood in the morning was still a mystery to her.

"You morons, I could've choked." She grumpily said. Their grins grew bigger.

"What a shame." Fred joked, and Cassie punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Careful Moore, I need these for quidditch."

As breakfast went on, McGonagall passed by giving out the yearly timetables. Cassie had successfully passed Charms, Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic and —although she wasn't sure how—, Herbology. The twins had gotten four OWLs each: Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms and Herbology.

"Looks like we will be classmates again." George commented, smirking. Cassie chuckled.

"As long as you don't distract me continuously..."

Their first class of the day was a two-hour Charms lesson, for which none of them were especially thrilled. Angelina and Alicia joined them around the end of the breakfast time, yawning and grabbing some muffins to eat along the way to the class. It seemed like all of them, including Lee Jordan, had picked Charms for their NEWTs, so the six of them walked together to the classroom, sitting in three sets of desks at the very end of the room.

"This year we have to get serious." Angelina whispered, sitting next to Cassie.

The redhead sniggered.

"With those two behind us? Nice try." She replied, pointing to the two pranksters with her thumb. They weren't making trouble, but talking with their heads very close. Probably plotting some prank or another.

The lesson went on without further incident, Angelina and Cassie trying to take notes of everything Professor Flitwick was saying while ignoring the not-so-quiet chuckles of Alicia, Lee and the twins behind them. Cassie rather liked Charms, but it wasn't near as exciting as the prospect of having Defence Against the Dark Arts in the afternoon with the new and scary teacher.

The _clunk_ of his wooden leg could be heard in the corridor as he approached the classroom, filled with Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs almost unable to contain their anticipation. When he entered the room, Professor Moody slammed the door shut, effectively shutting everyone up as he started calling the roll.

"This year, I will begin to prepare you for the most important exams of your academic life: the NEWTs." The man started to speak in a gruffy voice, as he wrote in the chalkboard. "Now, many of my colleagues think that some things are not to be learned until you are adults, but I disagree. And that's why we will start with the Unforgivable Curses."

Murmurs of surprise and intrigue travelled through the students, some even gasping in surprise. Cassie just arched one eyebrow, having been told by her mother about the Curses and their danger, but Lee, sitting right next to her, was buzzing with excitement.

"Who can tell me the names of the three Curses?" Moody asked, surveying the class before him with both his eyes, the magical one going extra fast.

Cassie felt like sinking on her seat when Fred Weasley's hand rose up in the air. Nothing good could come out of it.

However, Fred was strangely serious.

"My dad told me about the Imperious one." He said, his voice lowering. "The Ministry had big trouble with it."

"Correct." The teacher praised. "The Imperious Curse. Complete control over a person and no way to distinguish its effects. Let's see..."

And, to Cassie's horror, one scarred hand went into a jar she hadn't noticed before and extracted a big, very alive spider. She had to refrain from standing up and running away, and instead fixed her eyes in the wooden desk before her.

" _Imperio_!" She heard the man say, and a flash of light reached her eyes. She still didn't lift her gaze, a nausea feeling becoming present in her stomach.

From the gasps of the students around her, Cassie gathered that Moody had, in fact, cursed the spider and was making it do whatever he wanted. It was gruesome to imagine.

After that little show, someone else spoke up and mentioned the Cruciatus Curse, which caused extreme and almost unbearable pain to a person, and the Professor casted it on the arachnid, for whom Cassie did not feel any sorrow. Spiders had been her greatest fear since she was little, and even the thought of them made her sick.

Thankfully, her anxiety ended when the Killing Curse was brought up, and the spider ended up dead. Cassie didn't even look up at that point. She had had enough with dead spiders in Potions class the year before, it was not like she needed to see any more of them.

"That was awesome!" George beamed as they filed out of the class. Alicia and Angelina nodded in agreement, a bit shocked at the demonstration of the forbidden curses but excited, nonetheless.

They commented on the lesson all the way to the Gryffindor Common Room, while Cassie remained silent at the back of the group. She was still a bit tense because of the sudden appearance of the spider, and talking about how _cool_ it had been to see the animal suffer some gruesome curses was the last thing she wanted to do at the moment.

"I think I'm just going to go upstairs for a while." She announced when they reached the common room, her voice low.

"You okay, Cass?" Alicia immediately asked, concerned for her friend's sudden change of mood after the lesson. Cassie nodded unconvincingly.

"Yeah, just want to be alone for a bit."

All five teenagers sent worried looks her way while she climbed up the stairs to the sixth year girls' dorm, but went back to their excited chatter after a few minutes, not thinking much more of it.

Once she was finally alone, Cassie sat down on her small desk and took out some ink and parchment. She needed to talk to Sirius —to her dad.

He would understand her.


	4. Three

_Saturday, 17th September, 1994._

_Dear_ _Sirius;_

_It has only been two weeks, but I already miss you and Remus a lot. Thank you for paying_ _for_ _my subscription for The Daily Prophet, even though you said they were lying bastards. I rather like being in contact with the outside world while I'm here._

_Classes have been okay, everything quite normal apart from Professor Moody. He's crazy, I swear. He taught us the Unforgivable Curses on the first day, and now we're doing essays on the_ inferi _non-stop. It looks as if he takes pleasure on the most disgusting matters of every topic. Gives me the creeps. Also, he brought a_ _spider_ _to class. I was terrified. Haven't really liked him since that._

_Anyways, I hope the two of you are holding up well. I know that not having me there must be straight up depressing but try and hang in there. Just joking. I love you two._

_Send my love to Remus and try not to drive him too crazy, please. I'm looking forward to your letter and I promise I won't take too long to write next time. Love you lots,_

_Cassie._

_P.D.: McGonagall talked to me the other day and she sends his regards to_ **_you_ ** _. What the hell, Padfoot?_

Cassie smiled as she folded up the parchment and tucked it into her pocket, ready to go to the owlery and send it. Nobody knew about Sirius being her father, which was great, because the Ministry would want to interrogate her if they did know. And she wasn't a very good liar. The incident with McGonagall had been weird, though, but it was probably Dumbledore's doing, as he knew what had happened at the end of the last year and could have told the woman confidentially.

As she climbed up the stairs to the owlery, voices could be heard slipping through the half-opened door. Cassie stood awkwardly in the doorway, not knowing what to do. Before her, the Weasley twins were standing in the middle of the owlery, discussing something that seemed important, judging by the solemn tone in their voices.

"It is probably a mistake." George was saying. "He'll realize that and will give us back what it's ours."

"Yeah but-" Fred started, but trailed off abruptly mid-sentence. Both of them turned in synchrony.

"It's not polite to eavesdrop, Miss Moore." Said Fred, a menacing tone underlying his words. Cassie shrugged, used to the twins' antics.

"I was just waiting for you to finish." She stated, stepping into the room and quickly choosing a discreet owl to deliver her letter.

Fred and George exchanged glances, and Cassie didn't miss how Fred tried to hide an envelope behind his back.

"So, who are you writing to?" The girl asked nonchalantly, leaning on a piece of the wall that didn't seem to be too dirty.

"Aha! So you were spying on us!" Fred exclaimed accusatorily. Cassie arched one eyebrow.

"I wasn't. Unless you like hanging out at the owlery -which I know you do not- I don't see another motive for you two to be here."

The twins remained quiet, and didn't say anything when Cassie left the room, flashing them a quick smile and closing the door behind her.

Fred turned to his brother then, one eyebrow raised.

"You like her, don't you?"

***

Sunday morning was the most relaxing time Cassie had had in a while. She woke up relatively early, had a nice breakfast and spent the hours on the quidditch pitch, reading on the bleachers under the warm September sun. The weather was fantastic, and she enjoyed every bit of it.

At lunchtime, she took out two ham sandwiches from her satchel and ate them there, getting the most out of the midday sun that hit her spot directly. If it wasn't for the cool breeze that swirled around, it would have been too hot for her, but that was what made the day perfect. Only the chirping of distant birds could be heard, and Cassie closed her eyes, feeling at peace with herself.

"Hey, Moore!"

A voice woke her up, almost two hours later. She dazedly opened her eyes, rubbing them with one hand while using the other to steady herself. The voice came for a figure standing not too far away, two rows of seats down from where she had fallen asleep.

Cassie managed to finally stand up, confused about everything. Narrowing her eyes, she looked directly at the person that had addressed her. The evening sun hit the figure directly, a golden tint illuminating everything.

The stranger was a girl of around her age, with black hair that fell all the way down to her waist. She wore the school's uniform, trimmed with emerald green. Cassie vaguely remembered her from some of her classes in fifth year but couldn't remember her name at all. The only thing she knew was that she was one of the few Slytherins that didn't have any trouble with the twins.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." The girl spoke again, a smirk dancing on her lips. Cassie smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry. Spaced out for a minute there."

"I gathered."

The Gryffindor girl quickly picked up her satchel and, after making sure her wand was still tucked on it, made her way towards the other girl, who was waiting for her with her arms crossed.

"I'm Cassie, by the way." She introduced herself, sticking a hand out. If the black-haired girl was surprised, she did not show any sign of it.

"Kathleen Maybeth."

An awkward silence settled for a minute, until Cassie spoke again.

"How did you find me?"

Kathleen shrugged, her face practically blank.

"I like to come here sometimes in the evening. Saw you there sleeping and didn't think you'd like to catch a cold." She explained, and the redhead smiled gratefully.

The Slytherin was right; as soon as the sun disappeared, all the warmth would go away and the chilly weather typical of September nights would settle in, probably making her catch a cold if she wasn't wearing her cloak.

The two girls walked silently towards the castle, until they reached the staircase at the hall and bid each other goodbye, going to their respective common rooms. Cassie followed the black-haired girl with her gaze for a couple of seconds, until she started climbing the stairs towards the Gryffindor tower. That girl had something that drew her attention, an aura of mysteriousness that compelled Cassie to want to be her friend. It also helped that Kathleen was definitely beautiful, with her high cheekbones and dark eyes.

Cassie definitely wanted to get to know Kathleen Maybeth a little bit more, despite what her housemates could say about the Slytherins. She didn't believe in all that house rivalry nonsense anyways.


	5. Four

October went by in a blur of lessons and homework, sixth years slowly becoming aware of the huge workload that the NEWTs conveyed. However, no amount of essays could remove the general excitement that coursed the school at the perspective of the Triwizard Tournament taking place at Hogwarts that year.

Cassie, who had never heard about the Tournament before, was interested in the perspective of meeting new people from other cultures and countries, but she had bigger problems on her mind. For one, Sirius hadn't answered to the letter she had sent almost a month ago, which was starting to worry her. And on the other hand, she had been doing worse and worse in Herbology, getting to the point that Professor Sprout herself had suggested her to get an older student to tutor her. However, Cassie didn't know anyone who would be up for that, until George Weasley found her one Monday afternoon.

"Are you afraid of spiders?"

The redhead shrieked, jumping on the place where she'd been calmly standing, in the middle of the Transfiguration hallway.

"How are you always so bloody stealthy?" She screeched, calming herself down. George laughed.

"You didn't answer my question."

Cassie sighed.

"Yes, I am. Why is that of importance to you?"

George leaned back on the wall, his hands on his trousers' pockets, and smirked.

"I was curious."

The girl arched one eyebrow sceptically but decided to let it slide. She turned back to McGonagall's office door, which had been closed for the last half hour, and scowled. According to her calculations, the teacher should have been there by then, and she needed to talk to her urgently about Sirius' whereabouts.

"What are you doing here?" The boy asked, remembering her that he was still there.

"I had a question about homework." Cassie replied airily.

They remained silent for a while, until George spoke again.

"You know McGonagall is in detention with my brother, right?"

Cassie groaned and turned angrily, sending him a glare and stalking out of the corridor. She'd talk to McGonagall later. Maybe she could talk to Potter, though, seeing as he was Sirius godson. He could know something about him.

"Oi, wait!" George yelled, running behind her. "I need to talk to you."

The red-headed girl turned quizzically, eyeing her friend with suspicion, and he smiled. Which she didn't find cute at all. At. All.

"Professor Sprout talked to me." He started. "After Herbology this morning. Remember, when she said 'hey, George, come here for a sec.'..." Cassie sent him a look to hurry up. "Yeah, you were there."

»"Anyways." George continued. "She told me you needed a tutor. And seeing as I'm practically one with the plants —okay, that's a bit much but still, I'm awesome." Cassie sent him another look. "Well, I offered to tutor you."

When he finished, he looked at her expectantly. Cassie didn't know what to say. The perspective of George tutoring her on Herbology was great, as he was her friend, and that made things quite simpler; but there was a small, a tiny part of her that wondered if she would be able to focus and not look at him the whole time. It was already difficult when they were in any social situation.

"Yes." She finally said, breaking into a grin.

George let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and smiled as well.

Tutoring Cassie would be a walk in the park, right?

***

Harry Potter was writing an essay on a goblin rebellion of the eighteenth century when Cassie approached him on the common room. The two of them weren't exactly close, but the secret they shared created an invisible bond between them, besides the fact that they were practically family.

"Hey, Potter." The redhead greeted, sitting on the table he was using.

The boy lifted his head and looked at her through his round glasses, smiling tiredly. He didn't seem to be enjoying his work, she noticed when he dropped the quill hastily and leaned back on the chair.

"Hi, Cassie." He replied. "How are you?"

"Holding up alright." She smiled briefly before her features darkened, her voice lowering. "Have you talked to Sirius lately?"

The scarred boy looked like a deer in the headlights. Cassie didn't miss the guilty look in his emerald eyes, and her face hardened.

"What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Harry tried to defend himself. "He just gets very worried about small things."

Cassie stared at him.

"He's coming... because I told him that my scar was hurting."

The girl just kept staring at him, not knowing what to say. Sirius was coming back, which meant that they could see each other sometime, but he was still on the run and should be keeping a low profile, not rushing to see if his godson was okay or not.

She also felt a small pang of jealousy. Over the summer, her dad and Remus had told her all the adventures they had lived in Hogwarts with their other two friends —Peter Pettigrew and James Potter—, and Sirius still mourned deeply his best friend's death, which made him closer to Harry, as he was every inch like James. Cassie knew that, being his daughter, she would be a priority for Sirius, but the fact that he worried so much about the fourteen-year-old showed how much he cared about him too.

"I-I'm sorry." Harry stammered.

Cassie looked at him, having forgotten for a second that he was right in front of her.

"It's okay." She said, somewhat bitterly. "Did he tell you anything else?"

Harry shook his head and remained silent, so Cassie took that as her cue to go and leave him working on his History of Magic essay. Speaking of that, she had an essay to do for the subject as well.

Sighing heavily, the sixteen-year-old climbed up the stairs towards her dorm. Once there, she sat on her bed, picked up the History of Magic textbook and started reading on the creation of the Magical Congress of the United States of America in 1693 and its International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. At least it was more interesting than goblin rebellions of the eighteenth century.


	6. Five

One week before Cassie's birthday, a notice appeared at the foot of the marble staircase in the entrance hall. She, Angelina and Alicia pushed their way through the small crowd that had congregated in front of it, beaming excitedly when they got a chance to read the large sign.

_TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT_

_The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o'clock on Friday the 30th of October. Lessons will end half an hour early. Students will return their bags and books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before the Welcoming Feast._

"That's on your birthday, isn't it?" Angelina asked, turning to her red-haired friend.

"I guess it'll be a fun way of celebrating it." Cassie replied, grinning.

The three of them made their way into the Great Hall for lunch and noticed that the Weasley twins were sitting at one end of the Gryffindor table, not interacting with anybody and talking lowly between them. Cassie wondered if it had something to do with what she had heard at the owlery weeks ago.

"Do you reckon Fred and George will try and enter?" Alicia commented, glaring slightly at the Slytherins as they walked by their table.

Cassie briefly looked and caught Kathleen's eye, who just raised an eyebrow at her, making the redhead blush slightly and turn around.

"Knowing them, they'll try." Angelina was saying. "Hey, you'll be seventeen Cassie! Why don't you try? I may give it a go."

"Too dangerous." Cassie mumbled. Putting herself in a life-threatening situation as the Tournament wasn't her kind of thing. Also, even though her father might encourage it, Remus would have a heart attack.

Alicia shrugged.

"I'd try if I could, just to see what happens."

Fred and George barely looked up when the three girls sat down in front of them. Their faces that usually held a smirk or a mischievous grin were contorted in identical scowls, and Cassie wondered once again what could be going on. Alicia and Angelina noticed it as well, but no one said anything. They had been behaving like that for several weeks, not saying anything even to Lee, who was kind of bitter about it and had been spending more time with other Gryffindors.

After lunch, everyone went to their respective lessons, or, in Fred's case, free time, and George and Cassie made their way towards the greenhouses. Both boys had quickly recovered of whatever it was that made them be so serious and were back to their usual selves, joking back and forth and making fun of everything.

"We didn't really set a day for the Herbology tutoring." George commented suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence they had settled into. Cassie hummed in agreement. "Is Sunday alright? At like, four o'clock or something."

"That'll work for me." She replied, smiling up at him. "Do you know where we can have them?"

"Classroom four on the third floor is always abandoned, and Sprout gave me her approval to use it." The boy suggested.

"Sunday at four o'clock it is."

***

Cassie was the first to arrive at classroom four on the third floor on Sunday. George didn't take too long in joining her, and soon the two sixth years were seated at one of the classroom desks.

"We should start going over the theory." George suggested. "And in the actual Herbology classes I can show you how to correctly do the practical side."

The girl nodded in agreement, opening her _Flesh-Eating Tress of the World_ book. Professor Sprout had strongly recommended it so they could review what they had learned in class about the _Venomous Tentacula_ and how to care for it. Why she was still in that subject, she didn't know.

Two hours passed by quickly, until they decided to end the lesson for the day. Cassie was somehow relieved because, even though George made Herbology fun and easy to learn, she was growing tired of feeling her cheeks flush every time the boy leaned on her table to see how she was doing with the little exercises he set up.

"Your birthday is next week, right?" George asked suddenly, as he waited for her to gather the books.

Cassie nodded and smiled slightly, waving her wand so the books would be floating behind the two of them as they walked down the deserted corridor. From the glass windows, a beautiful sunset could be seen, covering the mountains and castle walls in a lovely golden tint. The girl stopped, admiring it. She had always loved sunsets.

"Are you planning on doing something?" The boy questioned further, staring at the golden light that illuminated the girl's features. She looked beautiful, he thought.

If Cassie noticed him inching closer to her, she didn't say anything.

"No... not really." She answered, after a second of silence. "The other schools arrive that same day. We will be too busy gossiping over them to have a birthday gathering or something."

He hummed in agreement. The Weasley twins were always down for parties, that was a well-known fact, but the smaller redhead didn't really like them that much, so he would have to remind Fred not to start spreading the rumour of a party.

Silence settled between the two teenagers. Cassie stared at the setting sun, appreciating every colour and every light that it emitted, taking everything in and wishing she could be able to capture it with a camera or a drawing, but knowing that she didn't have either a camera or the skills to draw something so beautiful.

George took turns in looking at the sunset and at the girl beside him. It was so peaceful, so calming. He didn't remember having felt like that for a long time, hell, he didn't even remember having stopped to see a sunset ever. They were just standing in the middle of the corridor, faint sounds of students or teachers walking around and birds flying around the castle's towers surrounding them, as well as that golden light.

It felt good, and warm. It was something he could get used to doing.


	7. Six

"Happy birthday loser!"

A loud yell and two people jumping up and down on her mattress woke Cassie up on the day of her seventeenth birthday. Groaning, the redhead used her pillow to block the sound, her hair messy and vision blurry as a result of a heavy sleep.

"Shut up." Her voice emerged from the depths of the red-embroidered blankets. Alicia and Angelina chuckled.

"C'mon, we have presents for you!" Angelina shouted, hitting the girl with a pillow repeatedly.

Cassie finally arose from the bed, ignoring the look Alicia gave to her mismatched pyjamas and sending a questioning look to Angelina, who smirked and handed her a small wrapped parcel.

"It's from the two of us." Alicia said, smiling. "A little something."

"We didn't know what to get you, because well, you're a quite closed person." Angelina added, making the redhead chuckled nervously.

With trembling fingers, Cassie started unwrapping the gift, arching an eyebrow at the sight of a small, black notebook. It seemed quite simple at first glance, and with it came a dark red fountain pen with golden carvings.

"We noticed that you doodle a lot on textbooks and figured you could do with a notepad to develop your drawing skills." Alice explained. Since she was a half-blood, it made sense that she knew about notebooks and pens. "The paper is waterproof and thick, so the ink doesn't soak through. It also has magical functions like optional invisibility, a weightless charm and even projections of the drawings if you want to examine them closely."

"And the fountain pen is auto-rechargeable and has a variety of colours for you to pick." Continued Angelina, showing her how to do it. Cassie beamed.

"It's awesome!" She cried, raising to her feet and hugging her two best friends.

The two girls smiled as well, happy to see that their friend liked the gift so much. Cassie admired the two things again, holding them in her hands. They were light as feathers, and sketch ideas started popping up in her mind. Maybe she could even sketch some of her friends, it would be quite fun to see the results.

Lee Jordan and the twins were already at the Gryffindor table when the three girls went down late to have breakfast. Cassie was engulfed in three giant hugs and showered with birthday congratulations, as well as a promise of a later gift. The twins looked rather serious, but she shook it off thinking that it was probably because of having gotten up earlier.

"At least we have half an hour less of Transfiguration." Lee celebrated as they were finishing their respective breakfasts.

"Yay." Was the sarcastic response of Angelina.

"Cheer up guys," Alicia intervened, a grin on her face, "we might get to know new hot people this evening."

The day passed quickly by in a blur of lessons and excited chatter about the schools that were to arrive that same afternoon. Some of Cassie's classmates wished her a happy birthday, and two letters, one from Sirius and another one from Remus, were waiting for her in the dorm window when she went to retrieve some books before lunch. Both of them said equally nice and funny things, as well as an attempt to give parental warnings from Sirius. He was certainly unexperienced in the whole parenting thing, and Cassie couldn't blame him for that. Twelve years missing out on his daughter had taken quite a toll.

Sirius also informed her that he was up north and well hidden, and he asked for information about everything that was going on in Hogwarts, the Triwizard Tournament and everything. He also advised Cassie to keep an eye on Harry ­—what did he think she was, a babysitter?—, and to stay close to her friends, mentioning some weird rumours he had heard on his trip. It was kind of gloomy, but Cassie didn't let it ruin her good mood. She would have to mull things over later.

Gifts came with each letter, too. A nice book on Grindylows from Remus and a nice silver pendant with a charm in the shape of a dog paw. Cassie instantly liked both things and put on the piece of jewellery, wondering how on earth could have Sirius bought it without getting caught.

However, the most surprising thing to happen to Cassie that day was when a dark-haired, smirking girl approached her with glinting eyes and the usual aura of mystery around her persona.

"Heard it was your birthday."

Cassie didn't mask her surprise, stopping on her tracks and letting her friends continue walking without her. They were on their way towards the entrance hall, where the other two schools would be welcomed.

"It still is." She replied, grinning at the Slytherin girl. "Hi, Kathleen."

"Just Kath is okay." The addressed said, breaking into a small, genuine smile. "Happy birthday, Moore."

"Thank you, Just Kath."

Kathleen arched one eyebrow, the smirk on her lips reappearing as she leaned against a wall.

"When did you get so witty?"

"Hanging out with the twins does that to a person."

The two girls stared at each other in amusement, the flow of students walking around them never stopping. It only lasted for a moment, though, before a shrill voice interrupted their non-verbal conversation.

"Well, that's unusual, a blood-traitor and a Slytherin together!"

Cassie turned in annoyance, facing Emily Crowe. The blonde stood with a sneer on her face, and a Slytherin boy stood behind her, scowling at the two other girls.

"Bloody hell Crowe, leave me alone." The redhead snapped, turning swiftly on her heel and disappearing out of sight between the mass of students.

Emily arched one eyebrow and turned to Kathleen, who was still leaning on the wall with a blank expression replacing the smirk she had been displaying before.

"Don't grow too attached to that little redhead." She said, a dangerous tone underlying her calm voice. "She and her Gryffindor friends... they are all idiots. Come on, Montague."

And she left the corridor as well, followed by the burly boy.

Kathleen looked up at the ceiling and sighed almost imperceptibly. It was going to be a long year.


	8. Seven

The arriving of the other two wizarding schools, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, had been quite spectacular. The first one was from France, and its students made their appearance in an enormous carriage led by several winged horses the size of an elephant. They certainly looked French, Cassie decided, with their thin pale blue robes and silky shawls, and many of them were quite gorgeous as well. Durmstrang was a school of northern Europe, and its students were more prepared for the cold with heavy coats and stern looks. They arrived on a giant boat, which Cassie liked very much, and caused a murmur to break out between the Hogwarts students when one of them turned out to be Viktor Krum, the famous quidditch star that had caught the snitch in the World Cup only a few months ago. His face had been all over the newspapers, and Cassie remembered the twins' complaints about their younger brother not shutting up about him.

"They all look so... different." Alicia commented once they sat on their respective tables. Cassie hummed in response, eyeing the Beauxbatons lot, who looked uncomfortable sitting beside the Ravenclaws.

"Over here! Come and sit over here!" Ron Weasley was hissing, two seats down from where the twins, Lee and the girls were examining the French students. Cassie sent him a glance.

"It's a shame Durmstrang chose to sit with the Slytherins." Fred spoke, playing with his fork. "I would have definitely saved a seat for that brunette girl."

Angelina glared at him while Alicia chuckled. Cassie, however, was busy looking at the Slytherin table. Kathleen was there, her long black hair pulled up into a ponytail, and she didn't look fazed by the foreign students sitting near her. Almost as if she had sensed the redhead's eyes upon her, the Slytherin shifted her gaze from the table to Cassie, who quickly turned.

None of her friends seemed to have noticed the interaction, and she made an effort to join the current conversation they were having about the Durmstrang headmaster, Karkaroff. It didn't take long, however, for the Hogwarts headmaster to stand up and launch into his welcoming speech.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and — most particularly — guests," said Dumbledore, beaming around at the foreign students. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."

Cassie looked around the room. The Beauxbatons students didn't seem too interested on his words, and, to tell the truth, she wasn't very willing to hear them either. Her stomach was already rumbling hungrily.

"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," the headmaster continued, to Cassie's relief. "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"

Without taking a second glance to anyone, Cassie quickly dug into the nearest plate with food and served herself a good portion of a steak-and-kidney pudding, along with some mashed potatoes.

"What's that?" Lee asked with his mouth full, spraying bits of food all over Alicia, who sat in front of him and looked at the boy with disgust.

'That' were some foreign dishes Cassie had never seen before, the nearest one being some sort of stew that didn't look very attractive to her eye. Fred and George quickly exchanged glances, a familiar look in both their eyes as they helped themselves to equal portions of the grey stew that smelt like shellfish.

"Ew." Angelina commented, pulling a face of distaste.

"I bet I can finish it before you." Fred challenged, his brother nodding. They both grabbed the plate and started eating like madmen, as Lee and the girls cheered them.

George won, which resulted in him smiling smugly during the rest of the meal and nothing more. It was the most interesting thing to happen until one of the French girls approached their table, eyes everywhere following her. Cassie turned to see what was happening when Fred, George and Lee suddenly stopped talking, and felt her mouth hang partly open at the sight.

She had long, silvery-blonde hair to her waist and piercing eyes, with perfect teeth to accompany her perfect features. Cassie felt speechless at the gracility of her every movement and followed her with her gaze while she picked up the strange stew and carried it to the Ravenclaw table.

"What the hell guys?"

Alicia took her out of the trance, speaking loudly and waving her arms wildly in front of the three boys. Cassie quickly turned, feeling her cheeks flush bright red as Lee and the twins snapped out of it as well. Neither Angelina or Alicia seemed to have noticed that the redhead had also become entranced by the gorgeous girl.

"She must be a _veela_." Lee commented, glancing on the Ravenclaw table's direction once more.

"Yeah, that's not something you see every day." Fred added. There was still a slight dreamy look on his eyes.

George, however, was looking straight at Cassie, one eyebrow arched. He had noticed, and they would probably have a talk about it later. The redhead sighed. It would definitely be awkward.

Once everyone was satisfied with the meal and the golden plates were completely clean, Dumbledore stood up again. The Great Hall filled with tension and excitement, and Cassie could see the twins and Lee practically bouncing on their seats. Everyone wanted to know more about the Triwizard Tournament.

The headmaster started his speech by introducing Bartemius Crouch and Ludo Bagman, two Ministry workers that apparently had contributed on the making of the Tournament. They could not be more different; Crouch was severe-looking and didn't smile or wave, unlike Bagman, who smiled and received a good round of applause because of his fame as a Beater. Cassie, who had read about him in her mother's old quidditch magazines, clapped happily. The twins, however, stayed put.

A murmur of excited interest aroused between the students as a wooden, jewelled chest was carried by Filch to where Dumbledore was standing.

"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," said Dumbledore as Filch placed the chest carefully on the table before him, "and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways . . . their magical prowess — their daring — their powers of deduction — and, of course, their ability to cope with danger."

The Hall filled with silence as he continued explaining how the punctuation system worked, and then, the casket was opened magically and a large cup came to everyone's view, blue-white flames dancing on it. It was the Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore explained, and students who aspired to be champions had to put their names on it in the next twenty-four hours. Cassie wasn't very convinced on the prospect, especially after hearing the word 'danger', but many Gryffindors were listening intently, a look of determination and awe in their faces.

"To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation," said Dumbledore, "I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line."

Everyone's faces changed completely. Angry mutters could be heard as the headmaster explained that the Tournament was a binding contract and that those who wanted to participate had to be sure, and once he bid them goodnight, those mutters arose to a higher volume.

Cassie just observed as the twins and Lee complained. Being of age herself, she didn't have much of a problem with that, but they were determined to at least try and put their names in the goblet.

"Well, that should be fooled by an Aging Potion, shouldn't it? And once your name's in that goblet, you're laughing — it can't tell whether you're seventeen or not!" Fred was saying, as they filed out of the Hall. Harry Potter and his friends Ron and Hermione were next to them, the latter trying to persuade Fred not to try it.

"You'll try and get in, won't you, Harry?" George asked, but Cassie didn't get to hear the younger boy's reply as she was pushed forward in the crowd and stumbled next to Angelina and Alicia.

"I think I'll give it a try." The dark-skinned girl was saying. "It can't really be that bad, right?"

Alicia just shrugged. "I heard there were deaths, but that was many years ago..."

"Sounds too dangerous for me." Cassie intervened then, falling into step with her friends as they climbed up the main staircase. "I think I'll pass."

"Oh, come on Cassie. Imagine if some Slytherin gets to be champion. I couldn't live with that." Angelina tried to persuade her, but she just laughed.

"I think I would just root for Durmstrang then. Can you imagine how insufferable the Slytherins would be if we actually won?"

"Yeah, that wouldn't be cool." Alicia commented.

They reached the portrait hole and then climbed up the stairs to the sixth years' dorms, where everyone went to their own beds and prepared to sleep, the excitement of the many events that had taken place making them exhausted.

As Cassie laid on her bed some time later, she thought about the Tournament and whether she would even stand a chance against the other champions. Deciding that she would look up the Tournament's history on the library the next day, the red-haired Gryffindor laid back on her pillow and closed her eyes, quickly falling asleep.


	9. Eight

_Saturday, 31st October 1994_

  
_Dear Sirius,_

_Thank you for all the birthday wishes and the gift, I really liked it and I wear it every day. Angelina and Alicia complimented it, also. It was nice._

_Last night, the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrived here and the Triwizard Tournament was officially started, as Dumbledore said. Only students who are of age can participate, but I don't think I will. I don't really like the possibility of dying._

_Harry is okay, or he was last time I checked. I have been keeping an eye on him whenever I can, but he seems to be doing alright with her two little friends. They are so cute, always the three of them together everywhere. I hope he stays like this the entire year and doesn't get into any trouble, although he seems to attract problems like a magnet..._

_As for my lessons, I'm doing well in most of them, and George is helping me with Herbology, so everything is good. I'm working hard every day so I get good grades in my exam when the time comes._

_I hope that, wherever you are, you are okay. I'm here if you need anything._

_Love,_

_Cassie._

  
Cassie climbed up the stairs to the owlery, two envelopes in her hands. She had written to Remus as well, telling him practically the same she had told her father, and thanking him for the Grindylows book, which she still hadn't had a chance to read but looked quite interesting.

Once the letters had been sent, the two black owls becoming mere dots in the horizon, she made her way to the Great Hall, hoping that at least some of her friends were awake so she wouldn't have to eat breakfast all by herself. Nevertheless, her worries went away as soon as she set foot on the entrance hall, where a few people stood around the place the Goblet of Fire had been placed.

"Good morning, Cassie." Harry Potter greeted her happily. She smiled and went to say something, when a loud laugh invaded the hall.

Fred, George and Lee were entering it just then, laughing triumphally and looking quite excited. Cassie knew that, whatever they were up to, it wouldn't go well.

"We've just taken it." Fred whispered to her.

"The Aging Potion." George added. "It will make us a few months older."

The redhead looked at them sceptically, and a small smirk made its way in her features.

"We have decided to split the prize —a thousand Galleons— between the three of us in case one wins." Lee explained, a broad grin on his face.

Cassie sighed.

"I wouldn't try it, guys. Dumbledore is clever."

The boys looked unfazed.

"Wait, you're entering, right?" George asked then. Cassie shook her head.

"No."

He seemed ready to try and convince her, but Fred called him from where he stood next to the Goblet, and the two of them stood at the edge of the Age Line. She watched with mild curiosity as Fred took out a piece of parchment with the words _Fred Weasley – Hogwarts_ on it and, having everyone's eyes on him, stepped over the line.

Nothing happened for a second, so George whooped and leapt after his twin, but suddenly, there was a loud sizzle and both of them were thrown out of the circle, landing on their butts on the stone floor. Everyone looked at them, impressed, and with a 'pop', long, white beards grew on both their faces.

Amidst the roaring laughter of everyone in the hall, Cassie approached them, clutching her stomach as she laughed at their ridiculous appearance. Dumbledore stepped into the hall then, also making fun of the pair of pranksters and suggesting them to go to the hospital wing.

"Don't you look handsome." Cassie snickered. Lee was next to her, howling with laughter.

"Shut up, Moore." Replied Fred, although he was laughing too.

***

  
After the beards' incident, the four of them went back to have breakfast. Angelina had put her name on the Goblet, so they were rooting for her, although she was quite nervous of the prospect. Warrington, a nasty boy from Slytherin, and Diggory, from Hufflepuff, had also put their names in, and Cassie hoped that, if it wasn't Angelina, at least it was Diggory. He was nice enough, and didn't behave like a git in quidditch, unlike Warrington.

Saturday morning went on without further incident, the twins disappearing off to wherever they went sometimes and leaving Lee on his own with some fifth years. Angelina, Alicia and Cassie decided to catch up on their work and went to the library to complete an essay for Professor Moody on _inferi_.

It wasn't until the afternoon when Cassie found herself alone with George. At four o'clock, the redhead walked into the classroom they used for their weekly Herbology lessons and, to her surprise, George was already there, sitting on top of the teacher's desk waiting for her.

"You look younger." She joked, trying to diffuse the tension on the air. George half-smiled.

"Thank Madam Pomfrey for that."

They stayed silent for a second, until he decided to break the ice.

"I didn't know you were..." He started tentatively. Cassie arched one eyebrow.

"I was, what?"

George looked insecure, but still continued talking.

"That you liked girls."

A heavy silence fell upon the two of them. Cassie had given some thought to the matter, of course, but she hadn't come to a conclusion, and she didn't really know what to tell George.

"I guess I do?" It sounded more like a question than a statement, and both of them knew it. "But I think I like boys too." She quickly added.

"That can't be possible." George chuckled nervously. "You can like boys or girls, not both."

"Well, maybe _I_ do like both." Cassie retaliated defensively. She had no idea if such a thing was possible, but it was the only explanation to whatever that was going on with her.

It was a sure thing that she liked boys —she had liked them her entire life—, but that _veela_ had had some kind of effect on her that left Cassie completely smitten over the foreign girl.

"Why don't you tell me what is going on with you?" George spoke then, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Do you like girls or not?"

His tone was starting to get a little agressive, and Cassie didn't like that at all. She was starting to feel quite uncomfortable with the whole ordeal.

"You know what? I don't have to give you any explanations. I think I'll pass on today's lesson, thank you very much." Was her reply and, without a second thought, the redhead stormed out of the room, clutching the Herbology book to her chest and feeling way too angry at George all of a sudden.

***

  
Cassie avoided the twins like the plague for the rest of the day. She sat at the Halloween feast with Alicia and Angelina, and kept her head low the whole time, only interacting with them when she was spoken to. Her friends were quite used to her sudden episodes of quietness after everything that had happened the year before, so didn't say anything more than asking her if she was okay a few times, obtaining a small nod in response.

Alicia and Angelina spent the feast nervously talking about who would be chosen champion, the latter looking like she was on the verge of regretting her decision. Cassie understood her, she had read a little about the Tournament before dinner and the tasks seemed exceedingly difficult and dangerous. She even felt slightly sorry for whoever was chosen to represent Hogwarts and hoped that it wasn't Angelina. After reading that there had been _deaths_ , she didn't want one of her best friends risking her life like that.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Dumbledore, once everyone was satisfied with the feast. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber" — he indicated the door behind the staff table — "where they will be receiving their first instructions."

Everyone was chatting excitedly as the Great Hall fell into semi-darkness, Dumbledore having put out almost every candle in the room with his magic. The Goblet of Fire was shining next to him, the blue-white flames sparkling almost hypnotically. Cassie had her eyes glued to them, waiting in anticipation.

Suddenly, the flames turned red, shooting a piece of parchment into the air and making every student gasp in surprise as the headmaster caught the parchment and read it by the light of the flames.

"The champion for Durmstrang," he read, "will be Viktor Krum."

A round of applause and cheering broke out in the Hall as the quidditch champion stood up from the Slytherin table and went through a door behind the staff table. Once the chatter and clapping died down, everyone focused again on the goblet, which shot out a second parchment seconds later.

"The champion for Beauxbatons," Dumbledore read, "is Fleur Delacour!"

The _veela_ girl raised gracefully from the Ravenclaw table, Cassie looking at her astonished. As she was quite distant, her charm didn't affect the girl as much as it had done before, but she was clearly beautiful and attracted everyone's eyes with her delicate movements.

Silence fell upon the students once more, this time tense with excitement, as the next champion would be the Hogwarts champion. The third piece of parchment was shot up, and Cassie held her breath.

"The Hogwarts champion," Said Dumbledore, "is Cedric Diggory!"

The uproar from the Hufflepuff table was so loud it deafened every other yell in the Hall. Every Huflepuff student was on their feet, screaming and cheering Cedric as he walked towards the chamber grinning broadly. Angelina looked somewhat disappointed, but she cheered loudly as well. The twins and Lee weren't cheering, but Cassie was sure they would eventually support Diggory. She was clapping as well, happy to see that Hufflepuff, the most underrated house in her opinion, was getting at least some recognition.

Dumbledore started talking again once the cheers and clapping died down, but Cassie didn't pay much attention as she was busy hearing Angelina and Alicia whisper over how handsome Cedric Diggory was. The three champions were quite good looking, in her opinion, and she wondered absurdly if the goblet could have any way of choosing people because of their image.

Suddenly, the headmaster stopped speaking, and Cassie quickly lifted her head to see what the cause of his distraction was. The fire in the goblet was red once again, with sparks flying out of it, just like it had done when the other champions had been announced.

A fourth piece of parchment was produced, and the Hall fell silent as Dumbledore reached out a hand and picked it up, staring at the name written during a long minute, until he read it out loud.

"Harry Potter."

"No!"


	10. Nine

Cassie stood up on her seat, her indignant cry echoing in the silent Great Hall. However, she went unnoticed as every student turned to look at Harry, who looked perfectly stunned. She didn't sit down, however. Harry could not take part in that Tournament, he was just a child, for Merlin's sake! Why did problems always had to go after him?

"How could he have done it?" Alicia whispered, right beside her. Cassie turned fiercely.

"Does he look like someone who wanted to enter the Tournament?" She hissed back, pointing to the frozen kid.

Whispers filled the room, and some students got up to their feet, just as Cassie had done, but to get a better look at Harry. She started to feel dizzy. Sirius needed to be informed of that, he had told her to take care of him...

"Harry Potter! Harry! Up here, if you please!"

The voice of Dumbledore boomed through the hall, and the stumbling boy made his way towards the staff table, under the intense gaze of every student. And then, he slowly disappeared through the door he other champions had crossed as well.

They were quickly dismissed, as the headmaster and some teachers hurried behind Harry, and Cassie left the Hall among her friends, who had started to talk loudly and excitedly.

"I can't believe we've got a Gryffindor champion!" Lee yelled, looking quite exultant.

"Harry will pull this off, I know it." Fred added.

George, however, stayed rather quiet.

"Why did you yell 'no'?" He asked Cassie as soon as they fell a step behind the group.

Cassie just looked at him, feeling like a deer in the headlights. She had yelled on impulse, concerned by Harry's safety, and for a moment she had forgotten that her god-cousin relationship with Harry Potter was a secret, as well as who her father was.

Her face hardened when she remembered their earlier conversation.

"What's up with you? Mind your own business for once!" She practically yelled at him, increasing her velocity and walking away towards the common room without waiting for her friends.

George just stood there, a little stunned.

"Mate, what did you do?" Fred asked him in a slightly concerned tone. His brother just shrugged.

"I don't know."

***

_Sunday, 1st November 1994_

  
_Dear Remus:_

_Thank you so much for the Grindylows book, I've just started reading it and I'm enjoying it, it's quite useful and interesting._

_I hope you're okay and that 'that time of the month' doesn't hurt so much._

_I'm writing you not only to thank you for the present and the birthday wishes, but to ask a question that has been on my mind for the past few weeks and to update you on the latest news. This question it's about sexuality and romantic attraction, so if you're not comfortable with this you can skip it and I'll talk to Sirius instead._

_Anyways, here's the question: how is it possible that I feel attracted to boys and to girls_ _ at the same time _ _? To put you in context: I know I like boys my whole life, and I think I'm crushing on one boy at the moment, but there's this Slytherin girl who just... makes me so attracted to her. Also, I confirmed my suspicion when I met a veela girl (I don't know if she's full veela or just half) and I was immediately charmed, like most boys in the room._

_I know gay and lesbian people exist, but I don't feel like I belong there, I think I like_ _ both _ _, boys and girls. What do you think?_

_Also, in other news, weird stuff is happening over here. Last night, the champions for the Triwizard Tournament were chosen and there was a fourth champion: guess who. Yes, it was Harry. I'm worried for the boy, because apparently, he is competing. He's fourteen! Maybe you've already heard about this but I'm telling you anyways._

_I hope you answer quickly, as I'm quite confused. Also, I'll try and keep you posted on what keeps happening over here._

_Love,_

_Cassie._

  
The letter to Remus was quite long, but Cassie felt like she needed to express her feelings, and the ex-Professor was the most caring and emphatic person she knew. She was also sure that he would be the last person to ever judge her, and he also needed to know about Harry and the Tournament. He would probably have a heart attack when he found out.

The next few weeks were weird, especially for the Gryffindors. Almost everyone from that house was keen on supporting Harry as their champion, but Cassie didn't see it that way. She was convinced that he hadn't put his name on the goblet, but she didn't get a chance to talk to the boy, as he seemed to disappear most of the time. The other houses had turned their backs on him, however, especially the Hufflepuffs, who had adopted a cold attitude towards any Gryffindor.

On top of that, Cassie was avoiding Fred and George as much as she could, which resulted on her spending long periods of time holed up in the library, studying one subject or another. Her weekly Herbology lessons with George seemed to have stopped, and she felt confused about the whole ordeal, knowing that he must probably be annoyed at her. The thing is, she didn't want him asking more questions, and what he had said about she only being able to like girls _or_ boys had hurt her a little.

"Hogsmeade next weekend!" Alicia exclaimed excitedly one particularly cold morning, pointing to the sign that had appeared in the Gryffindor common room.

Cassie grinned, which had been rare on the past weeks, and leaned back on the armchair, closing the Transfiguration book she had been reading.

"Great! I need new parchment urgently."

That Saturday, Angelina, Alicia and Cassie walked down together to the little village, talking cheerfully about lessons, the weather and quidditch. The twins and Lee wouldn't be joining them, since they would be with Ron at Zonko's practically the whole day. Cassie was secretly glad about it —it had gotten to the point where she got nervous just by being around them, and the only words they exchanged were monosyllables. She wasn't angry at Fred at all, but as the two of them were always together, she had no other choice but to avoid him as well.

"I could do with a butterbeer." Angelina suggested once their basic errands (buying parchment, quills, some cute clothes...) were done. Both her friends agreed, and they made their way towards The Three Broomsticks, the most famous tavern in all Hogsmeade.

However, before they could enter, something caught Cassie's eye. Semi-hidden in an alleyway, a familiar-looking black dog was staring directly at her. He was thinner than she had ever seen him, but Cassie recognized him right away.

"I'll catch up in a minute." She told her friends, standing behind. "I forgot to do something."

Angelina and Alicia nodded and entered the pub, while Cassie just turned around and visited a small grocery store that was nearby. Five minutes later, she walked out with a full bag of food, and, acting as natural as possible, entered the alleyway where the black dog was sitting, waiting for her.

The dog wagged his tail and trotted out of the other end of the alleyway, Cassie close behind. They left the town and went into a cave that, if not for the dog, she would have never noticed. Once they were inside of it and well hidden, he transformed, and Sirius Black went to hug his daughter tightly.

"It's been a while." She said breathlessly, a broad grin on her face.

"I missed you."

When they separated, Cassie gave him the bag full of food, which he quickly devoured while thanking her with his mouth full.

"How have you been?" She asked, sitting down on the floor of the cave. Sirius shrugged.

"Not bad, I guess. Going from one place to another... eating what I could find." He said. His face adopted a more serious expression, and he looked at his daughter straight in the eye, which were the same colour as his. "Remus wrote me."

Cassie held her breath. She was slightly afraid of what Sirius would think if he knew the doubts that had been circling her head. However, an easy smile slipped into the man's face, relaxing her a little.

"He can't write at the moment —he's on a mission for Dumbledore and cannot risk being caught—, so he gave me the letter and I immediately decided to come speak to you." Sirius continued.

"I-I..." Cassie stuttered, but he continued talking.

"It's okay. I understand." The man let out a small smile and averted his gaze slightly. "There's a word for it, and you are not the only one. You're bisexual, Cassie. And it's okay."


	11. Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small trigger warning here, there are mentions of alcohol and getting drunk in this chapter.

Talking to Sirius had been almost therapeutic for Cassie. After that trip to Hogsmeade, she felt as if a weight had been lifted from her chest, and even her mood improved. She talked to the twins and made up with them, neither her or George touching the sexuality subject. He didn't mention the Harry thing either, and she was glad for it. Things were almost back to normal, and Cassie was slightly surprised at how easy it had been. Maybe the twins also valuated their friendship as much as she did.

The first task was two days after the Hogsmeade weekend, and Cassie anxiously joined her fellow housemates in the stands around the stadium after lunchtime. Everyone was eager to know what it would be about, and many gasps filled the arena once the first dragon made its appearance. Cassie rooted and cheered for Cedric, despite what the twins and Lee said about 'only Gryffindor can win', and was starting to enjoy watching the enormous beasts move when the last champion was announced.

"Harry Potter!"

Some parts of the crowd, mostly the Slytherin and Hufflepuff part, started to boo, but the Gryffindors made such a ruckus cheering that it was impossible to distinguish one from the other. From where they stood, Harry was a small figure, and Cassie was unable to see his face, whether he was scared, anxious or wanting to running away. Probably the three of them at the same time.

"What is he doing?" Angelina wondered, as he pointed out his wand to the sky and yelled something.

Everyone watched in astonishment as the _Firebolt_ , Harry's broom that Sirius had gifted him the year before, flew straight to its proprietary, who mounted it and soared through the air. Numerous gasps filled the crowd as a jet of fire almost hit him, but he moved with such ease, Cassie knew he was where he belonged: flying.

Time passed quickly by, and soon Harry had gotten the golden egg, was back on the ground and disappeared with Professors McGonagall, Moody and Hagrid towards the first aid tent. The Gryffindors were cheering and celebrating that their young champion had managed to get through the task brilliantly, and Cassie followed the twins in their wild antics, feeling exultant. Sirius would love to hear about it.

That night, there was a party in the Gryffindor common room, in honour of Harry Potter. Mountains of cakes and bottles of butterbeer and pumpkin juice littered the room, and when Lee Jordan let out some of his Filibuster's Fireworks, the air lit with stars and sparks. However, the real party was upstairs, where Fred and George hid some Firewhisky that only them, Lee, Angelina, Alicia and Cassie were allowed to drink.

"Congratulations, Harry!" Cassie clapped him on the back cheerily as soon as she found the boy. She was a little bit tipsy, but the boy didn't seem to realize. "We knew you could do it!"

"We?" Harry wondered. The girl chuckled.

"You're not the only one who talked to Sirius on Saturday." She whispered on his ear, and, leaving the puzzled fourteen-year-old behind, Cassie made her way towards her favourite redheads.

"Hey there Cass!" Fred greeted happily, looping an arm around her shoulders.

"Enjoying the party?" Asked George, an easy smile on his face.

Cassie nodded brightly, leaning on Fred. Someone had turned on the radio, and music filled the place, making her feel like dancing.

"Let's dance!" She yelled over the noise, grabbing George's hands and dragging him towards a less crowded space, where they could move more freely.

They danced a little, mostly moving wildly with no rhythm at all, until he lowered his head and whispered in Cassie's ear, making her shiver slightly.

"Shall we go upstairs for a drink?"

She grinned and nodded, and the two of them ran upstairs and into the boys' dorm, where George closed the door behind them and motioned for her to stay silent in between giggles. Cassie picked up the bottle from the heap of clothes where it was hidden and went to give it to George, but stumbled on the way.

Everything happened very quickly. One second Cassie was certain her face was going to hit the floor, and the next George had caught her by the waist and stabilized her, the two teenagers being at mere centimetres from one another.

"T-Thank you." Cassie stuttered, feeling her breathing heavy. Her heart was going a thousand miles per second, and she didn't know if it was because of the Firewhisky or the proximity to George.

He smiled softly, and Cassie was suddenly very much aware of the hands gripping at her waist.

"Anytime."

Their heads seemed to be attracted to each other, getting closer and closer by the second. Cassie could almost feel his breath over her mouth, and then...

A loud, screechy noise, like a wail, filled the room, travelling upstairs from the common room. The two teenagers quickly separated and looked everywhere, startled, but the source was downstairs, as they discovered when they left the dorm and made their way into the multitude, who was discussing what had just happened.

Harry was holding the golden egg on his hand, so it didn't take too long for Cassie to figure out what was going on.

"It was someone being tortured! You're going to have to fight the Cruciatus Curse!" A fourth year boy with a round face yelled, a look of terror over his features.

"Don't be a prat, Neville, that's illegal." George replied. He looked normal enough, and Cassie wished that no one found out about what happened between the two of them.

The party went on until past one in the morning. Cassie didn't talk to George for the rest of the night and stopped drinking altogether, preferring to spend time with Alicia and Angelina talking about the other wizarding schools and their students. They didn't seem to have noticed her and the red-headed prankster slipping upstairs, but Fred winked at her at one point and she instantly knew that either George had told him, or he had seen them.

Once she was finally tucked in the safety of her bed, Cassie allowed her mind to wander and remember exactly what had happened. With the ghost of George's hands on her waist and her cheeks red, she finally fell into a dreamless sleep.


	12. Eleven

December brought not only cold and bleak wind, but also a closer friendship between George and Cassie. It seemed as if, after all those weeks they hadn't talked to each other, the two of them were trying to catch up on it, spending all the time they could together, always talking and joking between them. If their friends noticed, they didn't say anything about the matter.

Cassie also found herself spending a lot of time at the library when she wasn't with George, studying hard for the end-of-term tests and writing one essay after the other. She usually studied alone, until one day, Kathleen Maybeth joined her.

"Mind if I sit here?" The dark-haired girl spoke, standing next to the seat in front of Cassie.

The Gryffindor quickly looked up and beamed at her. They hadn't talked in a long time, probably because both of them were busy with their own things, and she was glad to see that Kathleen wasn't wearing one of those _POTTER STINKS_ badges.

"Of course."

They studied in silence for a while, until Cassie lifter her head from the essay on Salem's witch trials and looked at the Slytherin with mild curiosity.

"What's your career plan?" She asked bluntly.

Kathleen arched her eyebrows, looking at the redhead in surprise and then breaking out into a smirk. Every sixth year was used to these kinds of questions by then, the pressure of what career path to choose becoming bigger as the NEWTs approached.

"I want to be an Auror." She stated with confidence, and Cassie looked at her shocked. "I know it's a lot of work, but why not. It would be interesting as well... a Slytherin catching dark wizards."

"I had never thought of that." Cassie admitted, feeling slightly impressive at the determination with which Kathleen had talked.

"What about you, Moore?" Kathleen put her elbow on the table and leaned on her hand, with a look that Cassie found quite hot. Wait, what?

"Eh... I haven't really thought about it."

The Slytherin studied her for a second in silence, until she spoke again, smirking at the evident nervousness of the redhead.

"I think you would be great in something international. You know, cooperating with other countries and such." She stated. "I get that vibe from you —that you'd make a good traveller and co-operator. You like to study diverse cultures, don't you?"

Cassie looked at her, impressed with the quick analysis. Kathleen was right, she had always liked to see the intercultural clash and how people worked when they encountered new cultures and challenges. She also loved History.

"I've heard about the Department of International Magical Cooperation." She slowly said, thinking about it. "They organized the Tournament this year, right?"

Kathleen nodded, a small smile on her lips.

"That's them."

They fell in a comfortable silence once again, the Slytherin girl going back to her Potions homework while Cassie mulled over what they had just talked about. It seemed certainly interesting, and she wanted to travel to foreign countries so badly... she would just have to look up what NEWTs would be needed to get a job there.

It wasn't until two weeks later that a more immediate problem than her career future appeared on Cassie's plate. After a particularly hard Transfiguration class where they had to transform the colour of their own hair using the _Crinus muto_ incantation, Professor McGonagall made all Gryffindors stay an extra five minutes, apparently to say something very important.

"A traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament is the Yule Ball." She started sternly. "It is an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests, and it will only be open to fourth years and above. Dress robes will be worn," Cassie snickered at the disgusted face Lee Jordan pulled, "and the ball will start at eight o'clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight in the Great Hall."

Alicia and Angelina were excitedly talking between them, and the two other girls with whom they shared a dorm giggled. Cassie met George's gaze and smiled softly at him, turning back her attention to Professor McGonagall.

"This, of course is a chance for us all to let... our hair down." The woman went on. "But that does _not_ mean that we will be relaxing the standards of behaviour we expect from Hogwarts students. If a Gryffindor student embarrasses the school in any way, I'll be seriously displeased."

The Gryffindor sixth years left the classroom talking animatedly between them. Cassie caught up with her friends, both excited and slightly stressed. She had never been to a ball, and the sole idea filled her with excitement and wonder, but it was an unsaid fact that she would have to get a date to go to the ball together, and that wasn't so exciting...

"So..." Cassie started, linking arms with Angelina and Alicia while wiggling her eyebrows. "Who are you going with?"

Both of them chuckled.

"I don't know who I'll be going with, but I can guess who your date is going to be." Said Alicia, giggling.

Cassie looked at her, clueless.

"What?"

"Come on, it's obvious you and George are ending together." Angelina said bluntly, a smirk on her face.

The redhead scoffed.

"Yeah, right, and I'm a flobberworm." Was her reply. She straightened up and held tightly her satchel. "I've gotta go, I don't want to be late for History of Magic."

As Cassie walked down the hall, Angelina and Alicia laughed, waving goodbye at their friend and going to the Gryffindor common room with Fred and George, who also had a free period.

***

  
During the next two weeks, everyone talked about the Yule Ball. Who was going with who, who had asked who and had been rejected... Cassie did not take part in any of that, not even knowing if she was going to ask someone to be her date, but Alicia and Angelina were quite enjoying all the commotion that travelled through the castle. On the last Hogsmeade weekend before Christmas, the three of them went to the first dress shop they found in the small village and spent the entire evening trying on outfits for the ball.

"I think dark purple would suit you well." Cassie mused, holding a long, velvet purple dress.

Angelina nodded excitedly, picking it up and hurrying to the changing rooms.

"Thanks Cass!" Her muffled yell was heard from there, and both Cassie and Alice chuckled.

"You have a good eye for these things." Alice commented, while considering a white and a yellow dress. "Which one should I pick?"

Cassie pondered for a second and then pointed to the yellow one, smiling.

"I like that one. With the white one, you'll look like a bride."

"You're right." Alicia agreed, and, smiling, trotted to the changing rooms after her friend.

The redhead smiled as well and then turned to the rack full of dresses, a light frown on her face.

"Okay, now, what should I pick?" She mused to herself, humming as she hovered her fingers over the dresses.

Half an hour later, the three girls had their perfect dresses and were walking back to the castle with broad smiles on their faces, the bags hovering in front of them. When they reached the common room, Fred and George were already there, talking to their brother Ron and his friends, Harry and Hermione, and Lee was nowhere to be seen, so the three girls put their dresses carefully on their dorm and took a seat near the fire, talking animatedly about the ball and the date Alicia had managed to get the day before with Kenneth Towler.

"Oi! Angelina!"

Fred's voice interrupted their chatter, and the three girls turned to look at him, who was smirking.

"What?" Angelina called back.

"Want to come to the ball with me?"

Cassie snorted, trying to hold in her laughter, but her dark-haired friend just looked at Fred for a second and broke out in a small grin.

"All right, then." Was her answer, as she turned around again and resumed her chatting as if nothing had just happened.

"You two are idiots." Alicia shook her head, grinning.

Angelina laughed, and then looked at Cassie wiggling her eyebrows.

"Only you and George are left without a date." She said.

"What about Lee?"

"He asked Katie Bell."

"Oh." Cassie started to feel nervous. George didn't look like he was going to ask her anytime soon, and she really didn't want to do it —what if he took it the wrong way?

"You'll have to do it at some point." Alicia simply said.

Cassie sighed. Alicia was right. It was time for her to step up.


	13. Twelve

"Oi! Dunderhead!"

Cassie's whisper-shout was loud enough for the two Slytherins sitting at her right to turn their heads with curiosity, but apparently not for George, who kept on talking with Fred, both their heads very close together.

They were in the very last Transfiguration class of the term, and McGonagall had just left them for a minute to tend to something Peeves had done. Resorting to desperate measures, Cassie quickly balled up a piece of parchment and threw it at full force towards the back of George's head.

"Ow!" He complained, turning around. "What do you want?"

Suddenly feeling quite nervous, Cassie just stared at him for a second until she remembered what she was supposed to say.

"We're, er... the only ones without a date to the ball." She blurted out, stumbling with her own words. George just looked at her, urging the girl to keep going. "Would you want to go with me?"

The boy looked surprised for a moment, but then smiled softly, and Cassie thanked him silently for not making fun of her.

"Of course, Cass."

After the bell rang, Cassie started packing up her things quickly to catch up with Angelina and Alicia, who were already at the door talking to Lee, but someone appeared at her side, blocking the aisle.

"So, you're going with Weasley?"

Cassie rolled her eyes instinctively at the familiar voice.

"What do you want, Crowe?" She retorted, not even bothering to look at the blonde girl.

"Oh, nothing. Just wanted to make sure that you had truly sunken so low. Dating a blood traitor... that's almost as bad as dating a mudblood." Emily Crowe smirked as she said those words, knowing that she'd get a reaction out of the Gryffindor.

Indeed, Cassie turned swiftly, a firm grip on her wand but without raising it, and a threatening look in her eyes. She _despised_ anyone who talked about blood purity and thought so highly of themselves that felt the right to use the word 'mudblood', and Emily Crowe was certainly on top of the list of people Cassie was ready to fight because of that.

"Why don't you shut your bloody mouth for once?" She spat, hatred underlining every one of her words. A spark of something she couldn't identify flickered in Crowe's brown eyes, but it was gone in a second.

"Just watch your back, Moore."

And with that, the blonde Slytherin was gone, making sure to push Alicia hard as she walked out of the classroom door.

"What did Crowe want?" Lee asked when their friend joined them at the door, glaring at the Slytherin girl's back, who walked down the corridor with ease.

Cassie scowled, tucking her wand on a pocket of her scarlet-rimmed robe and adjusting the satchel on her left shoulder.

"Messing with me, as always. She should get a new hobby, or else I'll grow tired and end up jinxing her."

"That, I would like to see." Fred Weasley intervened, winking at Cassie as he walked by. She just shrugged.

"Just wait."

***

Cassie spent the last week of the term alternating between helping the twins sell some of their Canary Creams, which were very successful and made her learn not to every accept anything from them, and studying for the last few exams. Fred and George had been talking about starting a joke shop when they ended Hogwarts since the start of the term, and Cassie had pleasingly joined them in the creation of some projects for the future. She had good ideas, and with her fountain pen and notebook sketches were quite easy to do and modify.

However, as the Yule Ball drew nearer, everyone's thoughts were on that. Rumours started spreading about Dumbledore booking The Weird Sisters, which Cassie desperately wished was true, and everyone just grew more anxious as the date approached. She actually tried to do a bit of studying on the first two days of the holidays, but with the general hubbub in the common room it was almost impossible, and it wasn't long before she dropped the idea and started to relax with Angelina and Alicia, leaving the homework to after the Ball.

On Christmas Day, the Weasleys organized a snowball fight, which Cassie, Angelina, Lee and Alicia gladly joined until it was too dark to aim the snowballs properly.

"You're good!" George exclaimed at Cassie, drying himself with his wand as he had been completely covered in snow.

The red-haired girl smirked.

"Or maybe you're too bad at ducking."

After the fight, she went to the Gryffindor dorms with Angelina and Alicia, and the three of them quickly dressed up, her two friends wearing the dresses Cassie had recommended them and looking spectacular. Alicia wore a light yellow one with short sleeves and a straight skirt that matched very nicely with her brown hair and slightly dark skin. She also put on some bracelets, that rattled whenever the chaser moved her left arm.

Meanwhile, Angelina wore her dark purple, velvet dress, that had a quite low neckline and hugged her torso perfectly, a flowy skirt completing it. A silver and purple necklace matched the outfit, and her hair was straightened and pushed backwards, looking softer than ever.

Cassie was the last one to leave the bathroom, taking longer than her two friends. However, when she finally made her appearance, the two chasers gasped loudly.

"Merlin, Cassie!"

"You look fantastic!"

The redhead smiled timidly, turning around so her friends could see the dress entirely.

It was two shades of blue; the lighter one was on the long tulle skirt that fell to her feet and had golden embroidery at the ends, and the darker shade was sparkly and covered her torso, falling down in two spiked pieces that reached the end of the skirt. The darker blue part also had some golden colours, especially in the shoulder straps. The sleeves were short, made of a beige-coloured semi-transparent fabric with golden embroidery as well, and this fabric matched the one that covered her breast in a heart shape, since the V-neck of the dress fell to the waist line and a piece of rigid beige fabric had been added to cover the chest like an inverted triangle, a small golden bow topping it.

"You like it?" Cassie asked, seeing that both Angelina and Alicia had fallen silent. "It isn't a bit much, right?"

"It's perfect." Angelina quickly answered, her eyes still on the dress.

"How are you planning on wearing your hair?" Alicia inquired, examining the red locks that fell messily on her friend's shoulders.

Cassie hesitated for a second before talking.

"I think... I'm going to need your help for that."


	14. Thirteen

The entrance hall was packed to the brim with students, all dressing different formal clothes in a huge variety of colours and standing in front of the doors to the Great Hall, which would open at exactly eight o'clock. Fred and George stood at one side, the latter leaning on the stone wall and looking towards the grand staircase with interest, as if he was trying to find someone. Both of them wore dress robes, black with a light orange waistcoat, that made them look less chaotic than usual.

"Where's Cassie?" Fred asked Angelina, whose dress he could not stop touching because of the smooth feeling.

"She was doing some last-minute retouching." She replied, smiling and softly swatting Fred's hand away. "Stop that! Have you never felt velvet?"

He shrugged, and looped an arm around his date's waist, wearing his characteristic grin.

"I have never felt velvet _on you_."

George looked away from them, feeling a little uncomfortable. His gaze shifted over to where his little brother Ron was meeting his date; a girl he had never seen before. She was pretty.

A nudge from Fred pulled him out of his thoughts, and George lifted his head just in time to see a familiar red-haired girl walking down the stairs. However, at that moment the doors to the Great Hall opened and there was a ruckus as everyone started moving around. George waded through the multitude, until he found Cassie at the bottom of the stairs, and his breath hitched.

Her long, orange hair that was usually tied back or pulled into a braid was cut short at shoulders length, giving Cassie a whole new appearance that he liked very much. The dress was perfect as well, he would have described it as unique, and golden heels shone on her feet, making her a little bit taller than what she usually was.

"Hi."

Cassie broke into a grin, and George realized he had been caught staring for too long. To tell the truth, she was also quite impressed with his put-together appearance; dress robes suited him well.

"You look great." George said, admiring her once again. Cassie blushed. "I like your hair."

Before he could process what he was doing, George's hand reached out and pushed a short red lock behind her ear gently.

"Thanks." The girl replied, the redness on her cheeks growing as she looked around them at the crowd that was entering the Great Hall. "I think we should go inside."

Dinner was excellent, Cassie thought. There was an entire menu of delicious food for them to choose from, and the twins and Lee kept making jokes and funny faces, so between all the laughter and the food, she had a very good time.

Once everyone was full, Dumbledore asked them to stand up, and all the tables were neatly organized along the walls with a wave of his wand. The students watched excitedly as the dance floor was formed, and a stage was conjured on one side of the room. A music band climbed onto it, everyone cheering loudly when they realized it was The Weird Sisters. Cassie almost cried.

After the four champions performed the first dance, everyone was allowed to enter the dance floor. George held out his hand almost mockingly for Cassie to take, and they danced to the slow song that was playing, mostly making fun of Fred and Angelina, who were pretty invested on it.

A livelier song started playing after that, and then another one, and then one more. Cassie danced wildly with George, having fun being twirled around and not caring at all how people were seeing her from outside, since she didn't really know how to dance. She was having a blast, and nothing else mattered.

"You want some butterbeer?" George asked her once they finally decided to rest and catch their breath for a small while.

Cassie nodded, sitting down in the nearest table she could find. Harry and Ron were sitting nearby, and she pondered going to talk to them for a moment, to see how the fourth champion was doing, but then Hermione Granger appeared and the three of them started arguing about something, so she decided it was better to stay out of it.

Angelina and Fred kept dancing exuberantly, not caring if they crashed hard with the people around them, and Alicia was at the other side of the room, sitting _very_ close to Kenneth while he whispered something on her ear. Cassie smiled to herself and averted her gaze, not wanting to spy on her friend. Lee was nowhere to be seen, but Cassie could have sworn she had seen him leaving the hall with Katie Bell, in the direction of the school grounds.

"Nice hair, Moore."

The modulated voice of Kathleen Maybeth snapped Cassie out of her thoughts. She was standing next to her, wearing a stunning emerald green dress with lace embroidery on the top and a V-neck, thin straps and a split skirt giving it style. Cassie felt herself gaping for a few seconds, until she recomposed herself and managed a nervous smile.

"T-Thank you." She stammered.

Kathleen smirked and held out her hand.

"Care for a dance?"

Almost trembling, the redhead took her hand and let the Slytherin lead her towards the dancefloor, while a captivating song she remembered vaguely from the radio played. Kathleen didn't let go of her hand, instead leading her through the quick steps of the dance following the song's rhythm.

"Don't you have a date?" Cassie asked, talking loudly in order to be heard over the music.

The brunette leaned closer to her, soft breath tickling Cassie's ear when she spoke softly.

"I just didn't find the right person."

Cassie felt frozen in the spot, unable to tear her eyes apart from Kathleen, who was looking at her intensely. The music kept playing, and people danced around them, as their bodies seemed to be inching closer by the second...

A hand grabbed the redhead's arm, snapping her out of her trance. She quickly turned to see George standing there, a flash of anger in his blue eyes.

"I thought you were tired from all the dancing." He said lowly. Cassie was about to blurt out some excuse, when another voice joined the two of them.

"Maybe she was tired of dancing _with you_."

Kathleen's eyes had lost their usual playful glint, and her face was stone-cold with a hint of a sneer. Cassie had only seen the Slytherin behave like that with one other person, and that was Emily Crowe.

"You know what-" George started to say in a loud voice, but was cut off by Cassie, who had had enough.

"Cut it, both of you." She said sharply. "I'm leaving."

Turning on her heel, the redhead stalked away, dodging dancing couples. She reached the main hall, and was about to start climbing up the stairs towards the Gryffindor common room when George's voice made her stop dead on her tracks.

"I think I deserve some explanation."

Cassie turned swiftly towards him, feeling anger rise inside of her. The good and friendly atmosphere had completely disappeared, and she only felt anger. Anger at George, who couldn't even accept her sexuality but demanded an explanation for such a stupid thing. Anger at Kathleen, just for being _so damn confusing_. And finally, anger at herself, for being so weak and stupid as to not figure out what her feelings were.

"Why do you care?!" She yelled at him, walking his way. "We're just friends!"

There was a hint of hurt in George's face, but he quickly covered it with an equally angry expression. He also strode closer to Cassie, their faces mere inches from each other.

"I bloody know we're just friends." He growled.

A moment of hesitation passed between the two of them, until Cassie finally threw her head forward and their lips connected angrily in a hot, much awaited kiss.


	15. Fourteen

"Something's up with you."

Angelina's voice was serious, which meant that she probably wasn't going to let the subject drop. Cassie sighed.

It had been two weeks and a half since the Yule Ball and, with the excuse of 'catching up with homework', Cassie had retreated to the library. It was true that she had a lot of work to do but, if she spent most of the time doodling absent-mindedly on the notebook her friends had gifted her, no one had to know. The real reason for her disappearance was, of course, not wanting to face George after the events of that night.

They had ended up doing adult-rated stuff in a broom cupboard.

"There's nothing 'up with me'" The redhead replied in a whisper, mimicking her friend's words. "I told you, work."

Angelina stood silent for a few seconds, staring at her red-haired, stubborn friend over her Charms book.

"What about you and Fred anyways?" Cassie mumbled after a few minutes of silence where only the sound of quills scratching parchment could be heard in the quiet library.

"I told you last week, we're... kind of dating."

Cassie let out a snort, and Angelina arched one eyebrow.

"It doesn't matter!" She whisper-yelled. "Don't try and turn the subject on me."

"Yeah, yeah..."

The redhead went back to writing on her parchment and Angelina knew it was a lost battle. She would have to ask again on another time.

It was until dinner that they stayed on the library, the two girls working silently on their respective essays until their stomachs started rumbling hungrily. Cassie refused to go down to the Great Hall, but Angelina ended up convincing her and, after meeting Alicia in the Gryffindor common room, the three dormmates walked to dinner, where most students already were.

Kathleen Maybeth sat at the Slytherin table, next to Emily Crowe but without showing any sign of affinity towards her. The brunette quickly caught Cassie's eye, who just avoided her gaze and blushed profusely. They hadn't talked at all since the Yule Ball, and she wanted to keep it that way, at least until she figured out everything.

Which of course wasn't happening any time soon.

"Look who decided to come out of the library!" Fred Weasley exclaimed as soon as Cassie sat on the bench opposite him. She just glared jokingly at him and started eating her food in silence. George, who had been looking at her, quickly averted his eyes.

"Shut up, Fred." Alicia retorted, eyeing Cassie.

The twins and Lee immersed themselves in a conversation about which prank would be most hilarious on Filch, and Alicia and Angelina just started talking about the second Triwizard task, a topic that had become quite popular in the past few days.

"What do you think it will be?" Angelina wondered, looking over to where Harry Potter was sitting.

"He doesn't look too cheery." Added Alicia, also glancing at the fourth champion.

Cassie continued staring discreetly at Harry even after her friends changed the conversation topic. She hadn't had a chance to talk to him since Christmas, mostly because of her confinement to the library but also because the boy seemed to continuously disappear. Sirius, who had asked her to keep an eye on Harry, had scarcely written as well, which led Cassie to think he was busy and hope he at least was somewhere safe.

However, it wasn't until almost a month later that her father finally wrote Cassie a not-so-lengthy letter asking her to meet him in a quite urgent tone. The next Hogsmeade weekend was still a little far away, so she suggested talking via floo powder on the fireplace of an abandoned classroom, and he agreed. The only catch was that she would have to get out of the common room after curfew and not be discovered, but maybe the two biggest troublemakers in all of Hogwarts could give her a hint.

"I need your help sneaking out tonight." She asked breathlessly.

Fred and George looked caught off guard for a second, but they quickly pulled their typical grins and crossed their arms simultaneously.

"Is this really happening George?"

"It seems like little Cassiopeia wants help in breaking a few rules."

She rolled her eyes in a mixture of annoyance and amusement as their grins just grew bigger.

"Are you done?" Cassie leaned closer to them, making sure that no one else in the common room was listening. "Listen guys, this is important. I _need_ to get to a specific place in the castle without being seen."

Fred's face had turned all business when he spoke again, his tone serious.

"What place is this you're talking about?"

***

An hour and a half later, Cassie managed to get in front of the fireplace right on time. The twin's help had proven most useful, as they had ended up walking her to the abandoned classroom, showing her all the passages and secret nooks she could take in order to not get discovered by Filch, Peeves or any patrolling teacher.

With her wand, the witch made a crackling fire appear, illuminating the room and warming Cassie up, since she was only wearing her pyjamas and a Gryffindor sweatshirt that didn't do much to keep the cold away.

"Cassiopeia."

The voice of her father startled her slightly, and she quickly inched closer to the fire, where Sirius Black's head was floating amidst the flames.

"Hi, dad." She replied, a smile dancing on her lips.

"Listen, I don't want to make you stay here too long. I've already put you into enough risk as it is – leaving the common room after curfew. But this is important." Sirius spoke urgently, and Cassie listened patiently, happy to see her father's face again. "Remus has told me about some rumours he has been hearing... I've heard some of it too. It looks like some of the old You-Know-Who's followers are mobilising, things are stirring up between them. We fear that something may be up."

"Can it be connected to the appearance of Harry's name on the Goblet of Fire?" Cassie asked, worried.

"It might be." Sirius replied uncertainly. "What I know for sure is that he is in very real danger. And you, me, and everybody else may be in danger too. You-Know-Who's followers are not to be taken kindly, Cassie."

There was a moment of silence, until Sirius spoke again.

"I want you to promise me that, if something happens, you will stay safe." He asked solemnly.

"But–" Cassie tried to argue, to no avail.

" _Promise me_." He insisted.

They looked at each other in the eye, until Cassie finally gave in.

"Okay." She sighed. "I promise I will stay safe."

"And no more sneaking around at night." Sirius added, cutting her off when she tried to protest again. "This was an exception."

His eyes twinkled and Cassie smiled against her will. She knew exactly how much of a troublemaker her father had been during his school years thanks to Remus.

"I should go now." He finally said, clearly disappointed at not being able to spend more time with his daughter. "Be careful. And don't get into any trouble – I'll know if you do."

"That, I cannot promise." Cassie said amusedly, and Sirius smiled as well.

"That's my daughter."

After a proper goodbye, Cassie put out the fire and made her way back to the Gryffindor common room, shivering in the process. However, before she could make it, a sound startled her.

A loud wailing, almost like a screech, could be heard not far away from where she was. Actually, it seemed like it came from the corridor right next to her. Full of curiosity, Cassie sneaked behind a statue, just in time to hear Filch's voice muttering something about Peeves, the poltergeist that made the caretaker's life impossible.

She held her breath, peeking from one side of the statue. The situation was a little weird, Cassie thought. Filch held in his hand a golden egg, undoubtedly the thing that had caused so much noise, and was speaking to his cat, Mrs. Norris, about Peeves stealing from a Triwizard champion.

That was odd. Cassie hadn't seen or heard Peeves anywhere close to the scene.

She was about to retreat silently as to not be discovered, when another voice was heard.

"Filch? What's going on?"

It was Snape. Severus bloody Snape. Cassie instantly knew she was done for. There was no possibility of leaving unscathed while Snape was still around, so she just kept hidden and continued listening to the teacher and Filch's bickering. She had a feeling that there was something strange going on, that she was missing out on something. What was a golden egg doing there anyways?

_Clunk. Clunk. Clunk._

Great. Moody was joining the party.

There was more bickering as the Auror entered the scene, he was acting weird as well. Cassie wondered briefly if it wasn't all a dream. Apparently, someone had broke into Snape's office, and Cassie hoped she wasn't discovered, as it would be quite difficult to prove that she hadn't been the perpetrator. At least, there would be a lot to explain.

She wasn't really interested in what was going on, so she turned around and just tried to make herself as inconspicuous as ever. Once Filch and Snape finally went away, Cassie breathed out relieved again. Only Moody was left, he'd probably leave soon as well, she thought.

However, the Auror proved her wrong as he spoke out loud again.

"Close save, Potter." He muttered.

Cassie's stomach sank. What in Merlin's pants was _Harry_ doing there? He surely was a bloody magnet for dangerous situations. She listened closely then, as they talked about some map and Mr. Crouch, who had been sick the last few months, and apparently was roaming the grounds of Hogwarts Merlin knows why. Everything was just getting weirder and weirder.

Finally, Moody sent Harry to bed and Cassie thought that she could walk away at last. If only the teacher went to his office too...

"Moore, come out of there."

Her entire body froze. She felt her stomach sink once again, remembering that _of course_ Moody's magical eye could see through objects, walls, and whatnot. Slightly quivering with fear and shame, Cassie walked out of her hideout, not daring to look the scarred professor in the eye.

"The daughter of Sirius Black." Moody spoke again, and this time Cassie lifted her head quickly, stunned.

"W-what?"

"Don't try and lie to me, Cassiopeia Moore." The Auror barked. "Only a few know that the last of the Blacks is not Sirius, but you. Obviously, it has been a very well-kept secret, but the resemblance... is uncanny."

Cassie let out a nervous laugh, not knowing what to say.

"I just..." She started, but the man cut her off abruptly.

"There are dangerous people out there that might know your little secret as well. If I were you, I would be careful – and not roam the castle at night. One can never know what dangers lay on the dark..."


	16. Fifteen

Moody's words echoed in her head during the next few days. Cassie didn't know whether to write to Sirius or keep it to herself. Up to that point, she had thought that in all Hogwarts only Harry, his two friends, Crowe and Dumbledore knew her secret, and the fact that Moody – a Ministry worker – and 'dangerous people' might know it as well made her shudder.

The Second Task was also looming in the horizon, which meant that Cassie couldn't get a minute to talk to Harry about Moody even if she wanted because he was neck deep in spell books all day, along with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. With no one to talk to about Sirius' dark warnings and Moody's somewhat threatening presence during class and at meals, Cassie started to grow anxious, getting quieter and spending most of her time holed away at the library, in that one corner no one used to frequent.

That's why, when George finally cornered her the day before the second task with a serious face, Cassie was confused about what was happening.

"Are we going to just pretend nothing happened, or what?" He asked, leaning on the stone wall of the Transfiguration corridor.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." She managed to reply, taken aback.

"You ignoring and being angry at me for weeks? Us snogging at the dance? I don't know Cass, I think it's pretty clear what I am talking about." George snapped in a not-so-friendly manner.

Cassie was torn between laughing hysterically or crying.

After everything that Sirius and Moody had told her, the Yule Ball and her previous fights with George seemed a trifle to Cassie. He obviously hadn't forgotten and, judging by the mixture of hurt and anger on his face, he didn't appreciate the girl's silence on the matter.

"What do you want me to say, then?" She asked, wishing he just let the whole thing go.

"I... forget it. Just forget it." George finally gave up and walked away, leaving Cassie standing there, feeling unsettled.

Angelina and Alicia quickly noticed the tension between Cassie and George at dinner that night, and tried to interrogate her, to no avail. Cassie started to get the feeling that she couldn't really trust no one, which led to her distancing from her friends and spending time alone wherever she could, not wanting to interact with anybody.

On the day of the second task, Cassie strongly considered not showing up and staying in, enjoying the quietness of the castle, but finally decided against it when she thought about Harry and how he deserved that she, something close to a relative for him, went there and supported him.

That's how she ended up squeezed between Lee and Angelina on the stands that overlooked the lake, reading for the second time the book on grindylows that Remus had gifted her while her friends speculated about what could be going on under the dark waters.

"There are grindylows down there, right?" Lee asked, noticing the book she was reading.

Cassie nodded.

"Aquatic demons – not to be taken lightly."

In that moment, almost as if it had been rehearsed, the voice of Ludo Bagman boomed through the stadium, notifying them that Fleur Delacour, the Beauxbatons champion, had abandoned the task because of a bad encounter with grindylows. Cassie looked over her direction, where the blond-haired girl was being pulled out of the water and covered in blankets. She was screaming something in French.

Lee Jordan whistled.

"You bet, they look nasty." He commented. "Look at the bruises on her arms!"

Diggory and Krum did not take long to appear after Fleur, each holding a girl in Hogwarts' robes. Cassie did not recognize any of the girls at first, until she heard Fred Weasley behind her.

"So that's why McGonagall wanted to see Ron and Hermione last night!"

Cassie looked at Fleur once more, who was crying in the arms of her Headmistress. The girl had surfaced alone, and that almost certainly meant that whatever person she was supposed to rescue was still in the depths of the lake... She shivered at the thought of being down there alone.

"Where's Harry?" Angelina anxiously muttered as the minutes passed and there was no sign of the boy.

"I hope he's alright." Cassie added, equally anxious.

She had to admit, the boy was growing on her, and if something were to happen to him...

"Look there he is!" Lee exclaimed then, pulling Cassie out of her musings.

Indeed, Harry was just surfacing and visibly gasping for air, and along with him were not one but two other people; a red-headed one Cassie quickly recognized as Ron and a platinum head that seemed to be some kind of relative of Fleur's, probably her little sister.

There was quite a ruckus in the bank of the lake when the fourth champion reached it, the judges running everywhere, as well as Madam Pomfrey and some teachers, and mostly everyone in the stands cheered loudly – Cassie included. She was relieved that Harry had managed to surpass the two tasks and, as Bagman later announced over the speakers, the third one would not be until the end of June, so he could breathe calmly until then.

A week after the second task, Cassie finally managed to get a moment alone with Harry, who was in the Gryffindor common room finishing some Potions homework near the fire.

"Hey." She greeted him, sitting in the armchair next to him. Harry replied with a short nod, finishing writing a sentence. "How are you?"

"Fine. Better than before." The boy lifted his head and gave a slight smile.

"I'm happy to hear that. I saw you pretty stressed out before the task."

Harry hummed in agreement and they fell in a small silence, which Cassie quickly broke.

"I don't know if Sirius has told you yet," she lowered her voice, "but he's going to be at Hogsmeade this weekend."

"He wrote to me this morning." He answered, a smile again on his face. It was clear that he loved his godfather.

"Great." Cassie smiled briefly, and then turned all seriousness again. "I also wanted to talk to you about Moody."

At that, the fourteen-year-old seemed surprised.

"I heard you two talking." She continued. "That night, at the stairs. When Filch and Snape had gone. I just wanted to advise you not to trust him entirely. He said... some weird, almost threatening things to me."

"Like what?"

Cassie shook her head, not wanting to talk any further about it.

"Just... be careful. Please. Sirius has asked me to tell you as well so... sorry if I'm being annoying. He worries a lot about you, you know."

"Yeah... I know." Harry acquired a soft expression. "Thank you, Cassie. I will be careful and all that."

The redhead laughed and ruffled his hair slightly, walking away. Her mission was fulfilled, and she had somehow talked to someone about Moody. Problem solved, right?

If only things were so easy.


	17. Sixteen

The next Hogsmeade weekend, Cassie stayed into the castle. She watched her friends walk down the path to the little village and then found herself a nice little space in a windowsill that overlooked the lake and part of the grounds. Notebook in hand, her intention for the day was clear: sketching everything that came to her mind.

However, her plans didn't usually go through as planned.

"Not a fan of Hogsmeade?"

Kathleen Maybeth leaned on the wall opposite her, black hair gathered in a nice plait that fell over her right shoulder. She was on her Hogwarts uniform – white shirt and green-embroidered skirt –, unlike Cassie, who was wearing her comfiest jeans and a Gryffindor sweatshirt, her red hair falling messily at both sides of her face and stopping right above the shoulders.

"Not a fan of crowds, more like." The redhead replied with a shy smile.

"Yeah, me neither."

They fell in a comfortable silence, Cassie finishing a sketch in her notebook and the Slytherin girl looking at her with curiosity.

"What's the deal with Weasley?" She finally asked, startling Cassie slightly.

"W-What?"

"You know. The Yule Ball, his little angry looks at me..." Kathleen insisted, a bit of impatience underlying her tone.

"Oh." Cassie didn't know what to say, and lowered her gaze back to her drawing. "I don't know, really."

Kathleen huffed and stepped closer to her, taking the notebook from her hands in order to get her full attention.

"Then you should make up your mind, Moore. I don't think you're an idiot, but I really don't understand why you seem so keen on acting like one." She hissed, thrusting the notebook back in Cassie's arms and stalking away.

The redhead just stood there, frozen in spot. Why were both Kathleen and George so angry at her? Was she doing something? Was she _not_ doing something? They seemed to have some kind of interest on her, but she just couldn't decide... Did she like them?

All those questions swarmed her mind for the rest of the day. Cassie knew she needed advice, badly, and finally gave in and turned to the two people that would certainly help her with heart problems: Angelina and Alicia.

"Wait, you and George did _what_?!"

Alicia's yell echoed in the half-empty dorm, making Cassie hurriedly shush her.

"It wasn't intentioned! At least at the beginning, I think... we were both very angry." She argued, but the smirk Angelina was giving her proved that they didn't buy it.

"You have been flirting for months, honestly, it was a matter of time." The dark skinned chaser stated. "Fred and I were thinking on starting a bet, actually."

Alicia laughed while Cassie sent both girls a glare.

"Forget it, I don't even know why I am asking you."

"Okay, okay, calm down Cass." Alicia put a hand on her shoulder, a friendly smile on her face. "Just to see if I've gotten it correctly... You and George fought a couple times before Christmas, then snogged at the ball, then fought again because you didn't talk about it for a month."

Cassie nodded, almost pouting.

"But I don't know what he wants to talk about!" She complained.

"Then there's the whole Kathleen ordeal." Angelina continued, ignoring Cassie's complaints. "She has been flirting with you what, the entire year? And you danced together at the ball, which made George jealous and, consequently, made her jealous too. She wants you to make up your mind, right? That probably means that she's waiting to see if you correspond her feelings or instead choose to go with George..."

The redhead put her face into her hands, frustrated. It was too much, and she didn't even know what to think about any of them. Two months ago, Cassie had been convinced that she had, at least, one tiny crush in George Weasley, but that Kathleen also attracted her. It was what had made her doubt about her sexuality, after all. However, after snogging George in the ball and dancing so close to Kathleen, and then all the events concerning Moody and Sirius... Cassie felt like she had more important things to worry about. That's what she told her friends, at least.

"I don't know, Cass." Angelina finally answered. "Just keep in mind that you're not the only person involved in this, and that both of them have feelings too."

***

The next day, Cassie woke up earlier than usual and went to the owlery, sending a letter to Sirius – a habit that had become almost a daily one –, and then going to have breakfast when not many people had awoken yet, enjoying the quietness of the Gryffindor table as she munched on her toast. She awaited until the Weasley twins made their appearance, followed by Lee Jordan, and stood up, making sure she walked past George.

"Herbology tutoring, four o'clock." She muttered, watching the surprised look on his eyes when he picked up the message.

George nodded slightly and Cassie walked away. That part of the job was done.

At precisely four o'clock, Cassie entered the abandoned classroom they had used in the first term for their weekly Herbology tutoring. George hadn't arrived yet and, as she sat on top of a desk, she feared that he wouldn't show up at all.

Nevertheless, it didn't take long for the red-haired boy to appear in the classroom's door, a mixture of confusion and curiosity on his face.

"Hey." He said quietly, locking eyes with Cassie.

"Hey."

He entered the room and leaned on the teacher's desk, one eyebrow arched.

"What do you want?"

Cassie hesitated slightly, but started talking anyways.

"I-I made up my mind. I don't want to pretend that nothing happened at the dance." She admitted, lowering her gaze and fixating it on the worn out surface of the desk.

"Yeah, about that..." George trailed off. Cassie lifted her head, to see that he was awkwardly scratching the back of his head. That couldn't be good.

"What?"

"I, er, had a date. Yesterday."

That word, _date_ , was what made Cassie's heart sink. After all the fighting, the kissing, the questions and the tension, George had decided to let her go and had gone on a date. She didn't have the right to feel bad, Cassie thought. It was her fault that George had given up on her, it was normal that he had grown tired of all the fighting and uncertainty. Hell, a week earlier she wasn't even thinking about him or the kiss, why did she feel so bad then? Why did it hurt so much?

"With who?" She asked, her voice wobbly. Tears started brimming in her eyes, but she didn't acknowledge them.

"Mavis Berkeley." Was his answer.

Cassie tried to remember that girl. She was a Ravenclaw in her Charms class, a bit short, with medium length brown hair and a round face. Many people knew her because she was quite clever, even for a Ravenclaw, and was usually the first to raise her hand when the professor asked a question. Cassie hadn't interacted with her much – she was quiet, but nice enough to people.

"Oh."

The atmosphere was tense. George looked slightly embarrassed, almost regretful, but by the look on his eyes when he had said the girl's name, Cassie knew that the date had gone well. It wasn't his fault, though. Neither Mavis'. It was all Cassie's fault, she had brought it upon herself.

"If that's all... I guess I'll be going..." George spoke tentatively. Cassie gave him a nod of her head, and he disappeared through the classroom door, leaving her alone.

A quiet sob escaped her lips, then another and then one more. She was crying, and the most frustrating thing was that she didn't even had a reason to cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually made an aesthetic for Cassie at this point, check it out: https://www.shoplook.io/outfit-preview/598220


	18. Seventeen

Cassie found herself staring at the back of Mavis Berkeley's head quite a few times during the Charms class on Monday. She was unable to pay attention to what professor Flitwick was saying, her head buzzing with one question in particular that would be the death of her: _What did Berkeley have that she didn't?_

It was obvious, Cassie thought, Mavis was pretty, clever and could hold an enjoyable conversation. The Ravenclaw wasn't weird or quiet at random times, didn't come with emotional baggage or had enough family drama for a lifetime. However, that hadn't seemed to matter to George before, and Cassie finally came to the conclusion that he had simply grown tired of her, of all the waiting. She didn't blame him, though, no one liked having their feelings played with.

"She's nice, you know." Alicia, who was sitting next to her, whispered. "More in his vibe I think."

Cassie scowled at her friend.

"You're not helping, Al."

"I'm just saying, there are plenty of fish in the sea."

The redhead rolled her eyes and pretended to not have heard her, focusing on taking notes of what Flitwick was currently writing in the blackboard. Two rows to the left, Angelina and Fred were busy writing silly stuff on each other's parchment, and behind them, George and Lee played quietly Exploding Snap. Cassie really didn't see how Mavis Berkeley was 'more in George's vibe', as the brunette was currently jotting down every single word the professor spoke, and her hand was already midway in the air before a question was even asked.

"I think I'm going to lay low on love for the moment." Cassie mumbled, fixating her eyes back down on the Charms textbook.

The next days seemed to drag endlessly. By Wednesday, Cassie was already fed up with lessons and studying, and when Saturday came by, she did nothing more than laying around in the common room all day. It wasn't wise to throw away an entire day in sixth year, but she felt like she deserved it. Also, neither Angelina and Alicia were doing much, so Cassie spent the day playing gobstones with them.

Easter came soon, and with it an incredibly big amount of homework and study to do. Fifth, sixth and seventh years were under a huge pressure, with the preparation of OWLs and NEWTs respectively, and Cassie felt worse every day that passed.

George and Mavis were still dating by the end of April, while Kathleen gave her an endless cold shoulder, ignoring Cassie every time they bumped into each other in the hallways. Meanwhile, the twins also grew more and more secretive with the girls and even with Lee, usually seen talking in hushed voices between the two of them in the common room or in the Great Hall, and disappearing for long periods of time. The only person that seemed to pay some sort of attention to Cassie, apart from Angelina, Alicia and Lee, was Emily Crowe, who made a snide remark each time they crossed paths and were far enough from a teacher as to not be heard.

"Honestly, what's up with everyone lately?" Alicia moaned one day during breakfast, glancing at Fred and George who were, once more, avoiding everyone and whispering with their heads together.

"I don't know." Was Cassie's reply. She was reading a Charms book under the table. "I'm just tired, honestly."

Angelina looked thoughtful.

"I heard them talking the other day... just caught a smidge of their conversation." Said the chaser, both her friends inching closer with curiosity. "At the moment I didn't think much of it, but now..."

"Well, what did they say?" Alicia urged her.

"Something about money and some insults towards someone. They surely didn't look very happy... I've never seen them like that."

Cassie mulled over the girl's words, until a memory sparked up on her mind.

"I heard them at the owlery too!" The redhead half-exclaimed. "Talking about some guy 'giving them back what was theirs'. Then they acted quite shifty about the subject when I asked. It was weird, but I didn't think much of it at the moment."

The three girls discussed the matter for a while, worried about their friends and their possibly threatening situation. They knew about the twins wanting to set up a joke shop – it was no secret if one regularly hanged out with them – but didn't want them getting into fishy business just because of that. Money could lead people to do dangerous things, and, after all, they were just teenagers.

Heavy rain poured down onto the Hogwarts' grounds during a particularly windy Thursday afternoon. Cassie was sitting on a windowsill in the second floor, notebook in hand as she sketched the Astronomy tower that poked out between the storm clouds. A repellent charm kept the raindrops from staining the paper she was drawing in, but that didn't stop the cold that seeped through her robes.

Cassie snuggled into her cloak, trying to bask in the little warmth that remained there, and sighed. She should be studying, not drawing. Transfiguration was starting to be the most difficult subject for her to follow, which meant that she would have to study a few hours into the night to catch up with everything.

There was a clear view of the courtyard from where Cassie stood, so, when two figures appeared running through it, she was able to see them. At first, the girl didn't recognize neither, only that one was running from the other, the latter being taller. They stopped at the middle of the courtyard, among puddles and with the rain pouring down on them, but did not seem to mind it as they seemed to be arguing about something.

"Who would be so stupid as to stand outside in this rain?" Cassie muttered to herself, leaning out of the window with her charm still working so she would not get wet.

The answer came in the shape of fiery red hair. Even though the heavy rain didn't allow Cassie to distinguish much apart from the outlines of the two students, the bright colour was clearly visible in contrast with the black robes and greyish stone floor of the yard.

"Of course, it's him."

Because of how high up she was, Cassie couldn't exactly see if it was Fred or George but she knew that Fred was at detention with McGonagall that afternoon, so there was only one option left. And, judging by the gestures and the shortness of the other student, it was Mavis Berkeley with whom George was arguing in the middle of the downpour.

"What are you exactly doing, Miss Moore?"

The drawling voice of Professor Snape caught the girl completely off guard. She jumped slightly and turned to face the eternally-scowling teacher, feeling ashamed of having been seen spying on George like that.

"I was drawing the Astronomy tower, sir." Cassie tried to excuse herself sheepishly, showing him the notebook with the almost finished sketch. Snape briefly glanced at it.

"Always so insolent." he drawled. "Ten points from Gryffindor. And get down from that window."

Cassie stared at him, almost defiantly, but did what she was told, nonetheless. With a swirl of his cloak, the Potions Master turned and walked down the corridor, her eyes boring holes at the back of his head the whole time. He had always been nasty with her, for reasons unknown to her.

"Asshole." She muttered through gritted teeth.


	19. Eighteen

That night, George Weasley didn't show up at the Gryffindor common room. Angelina and Alicia were only mild preoccupied while Fred seemed completely unfazed, playing Exploding Snap with Lee. Cassie, however, was feeling more and more worried as the minutes passed after curfew, especially after having seen him in the courtyard with Mavis. It hadn't looked like a happy conversation, more like an end-of-relationship argument.

"Stop worrying, Cass." Fred called out from where he was sitting.

Cassie sent him a glare and stood up from the loveseat, stepping closer to him.

"How can you be so calm? Your twin brother is missing!"

Fred just shrugged, placing his cards on the table and turning to her.

"It's not the first time. He'll eventually show up."

At that point, some other students had started paying attention to their conversation, but Cassie didn't mind. Her friend was out there after curfew and, even though she was well aware of the twins' talent to get out of every sticky situation, there was something that just didn't add up. It didn't _feel_ right.

Placing a hand on her shoulder, Fred steered the girl towards a corner, far from all nosy ears.

"Listen, Cassie." He said, lowering his voice. "I know all this 'George with Mavis' thing must suck for you, but he's my brother. He most probably is on some classroom or secret passage snogging her, nothing new."

There was a silence after his words. Cassie didn't know what to say. Obviously, that was a possibility, but they had been arguing...

Fred turned to leave but stopped after a few steps and went back.

"Anyways, why are you worrying about this all of a sudden?" He asked, intrigued. "George has been doing this like, every three or four days in the past month."

Cassie bit her lower lip hard. Should she tell him? Her demeanour already looked weird enough, and Fred knew about the kiss in the Yule Ball, so he could think that she was obsessed with George. Or that she liked him. Which she didn't, of course.

"Cassie." Fred snapped her out of her train of thinking.

"What?"

"You always bite your lip when hiding something. Tell me."

After a moment of hesitation, Cassie finally spoke up.

"Just... don't tell George." She started. "I was drawing next to a window a few hours ago and I saw him, with Mavis. They were arguing."

Ginny Weasley, who had been standing not to far away from them clearly listening to their conversation, intervened then.

"They have been fighting a lot these past days." She piped up.

Fred frowned slightly.

"That's true. Maybe they're making up?"

He seemed unconvinced, and so were Ginny and Cassie.

"It wouldn't hurt if we just checked if he was okay." The youngest Weasley suggested. "We have our reasons to do so."

"Alright, alright." Fred finally caved in. "There's one way to at least know if they're together without interrupting them."

***

"I don't have the map."

Harry looked uncomfortable as Fred and Cassie glared at him. Ginny, who didn't quite understand what was going on, looked alternatively at the dark-haired boy and at the redheads in mild confusion.

"And why in Merlin's name do you not have the map?" Cassie asked anxiously. Harry suddenly looked very ashamed.

"Professor Moody took it."

Fred sighed and looked at the two girls. Breaking into Moody's office after curfew and stealing a forbidden object was almost impossible. They wouldn't make it even in a million years.

"We could just go looking for him, without the map." Ginny suggested. Cassie arched her eyebrows in surprise at the girl's recklessness, while Fred had a proud look in his eyes.

Harry just shrugged and went back to his friends Ron and Hermione. There was a huge pile of books and parchment on their table, and Cassie knew that they weren't having it easy either.

"Okay, let's design a quick plan." Fred muttered, the three of them standing where no one would hear. "Ginny, you stay here in case George comes back."

The third year tried to protest, but her brother cut her off.

"I don't want you to get caught. You still have loads of years at Hogwarts to make acquaintances with detentions."

"... Alright."

Ginny wandered off to a table with some friends, and Fred and Cassie continued talking.

"Not to brag, but I know the grounds of this old castle by heart, so it's better if we stick together." The boy started, laughing when Cassie punched him playfully in the shoulder. "What are the places George likes most to frequent? We should start there."

Cassie shrugged.

"You know him better than I do. But I know about one place in particular..."

The castle was eerily silent as the dark shapes of Cassie and Fred slithered through dimly lit hallways, guiding themselves with the moonlight. Thankfully, it was a full moon night, so they could see easily into the usual darkness, but Cassie silently sent words of comfort for Remus, who wouldn't be having a particularly good night.

It seemed like an eternity before they arrived at their destiny. Fred had been leading the two of them through secret passages, dark hallways and hidden corners, in order to avoid the patrolling professors. They weren't caught, thanks to the expertise of the prankster, and soon were standing before the closed door of classroom four on the third floor. Cassie didn't know why it had come to her mind, but something told her that she was right.

Fred listened quietly through the door and nodded, gesturing for her to enter.

"Someone's in there, probably George. You should talk to him."

The red-headed girl furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Why me?" She whispered back. "You're his brother."

He just shrugged, somewhat sadly.

"I'm not very good with feelings... I think, right now, he needs you more."

After a moment or two of hesitation, Cassie finally made up her mind and quietly opened the door, sticking her head in. At first, there were no signs of someone being there, but then she spotted a dark shape in the desk furthest from the door.

"George?" She softly called, closing the door behind her and approaching him, avoiding collision with the other desks by squinting her eyes and trying to see in the dim light that entered through the high windows.

"What are you doing here?" His voice called back.

There was a pause while Cassie got to him, sitting on the bench right next to him.

"We went looking for you." The girl explained. She couldn't see George's face, but, judging by the tone on his voice, he wasn't feeling too cheery. "What happened."

For a moment, it sounded like he was trying to repress a sob. Then, the boy spoke up.

"Mavis and I had a fight. She just... doesn't understand some things. And I don't understand her either. We decided to break up."

Cassie didn't know what to say. She had half expected it, having seen the two of them arguing by the courtyard, but it wasn't until George said it out loud that the girl took real conscience of what was happening.

"I like her." He carried on. "I don't know what to do. We used to do many things together... now I feel so alone."

"Stop, stop." Cassie cut him off, placing a soothing hand on his shoulder. "I know you probably feel like rubbish because of this, but you still have your friends. You are not alone. Come to the common room with me, have a shower and get some rest. We can talk about all of this tomorrow, and I'm sure that you will feel better."

George didn't say anything else, he just nodded and stood up, followed by Cassie. They left the classroom and met Fred outside of it, who gave his brother a reassuring hug while looking at Cassie questioningly. She explained everything to him as they walked up to the Gryffindor tower.

Once they arrived at the common room, George gave a goodbye hug to the red-headed girl, who received it with a soft smile on her lips. George's hugs were always warm and made her feel home. It was a recomforting feeling.

"You will be okay. We talk tomorrow." She whispered in his ear, to which he nodded and managed a tiny smile.

Fred carried him upstairs with a grateful look and a 'goodnight' in Cassie's direction and she sighed, walking up to where Ginny Weasley had fallen asleep on an armchair. She gently woke the thirteen-year-old up and both of them made their way to the girls' dorms, Cassie promising to tell her everything that had happened the next morning.

Weasleys... they were going to drive her nuts.


	20. Nineteen

George wasn't the same for the next few weeks. Not only Cassie and Fred were worried, but Angelina and Alicia joined them as well once they found out what had happened. Most of the time, he was unusually quiet, and didn't participate on his brother's jokes, but sometimes, he talked —mostly to answer something someone had said or asked him— , and his voice was hollow, showing how bad he felt on the inside.

Everyone, even Lee, had asked George about the matter, trying to get the boy to return to his usually cheery self, but no one succeeded. Only Cassie, who had gone back to spending long periods of time with him, could catch a glimpse of his recuperation after a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, the exams drew nearer and nearer. Fifth and seventh year students drowned themselves in books and parchment, revising as hard as they could, as well as sixth years did, although they had less pressure upon them, the only pressing matter being the Apparition exam that most of the students, including Cassie and her friends, had passed.

Cassie, who had ended up deciding on the Department of International Magical Cooperation after an interview with Professor McGonagall, focused on every subject, as the department did not ask for specific subjects with specific marks but for great marks overall.

"I never told you why we broke up, did I?"

George's calm voice interrupted the string of thoughts that circulated through Cassie's head as they walked through the freshly-cut grounds one sunny morning. Surprised at the sudden topic that her friend had brought up, the red-headed girl swiftly turned at him, curiosity in her gaze.

"You didn't." She muttered.

"It was because of you."

Cassie opened her eyes wide in astonishment, thinking she had heard him wrong or that he was just messing with her.

"What?"

He, however, was completely serious. Over the last few days, George had started joining his brother in mischief again, joking around every now and then and seemingly happier, but there was something in his eyes that told Cassie that the boy was not joking, but instead finally opening up to her.

"Among other things." George clarified. "Mavis didn't really like you. Not in a burning-hate way, but more in a suspicious way. I'll admit I used to talk about you a lot, and she probably got tired."

There was a small silence while Cassie mulled over his words.

"Mav was always a little bit insecure. My guess is that it ended up getting to her. That's why we had that argument... I was also tired of other things, and we just shouted nastily at each other." The red-haired boy finished his explanation.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't know what to say."

Cassie lifted her head to look up to him. George had a bitter smile on his face, eyes fixed at one point in the horizon. They had stopped walking a while ago, and were just standing there, in the middle of a patch of grass, under the heating sun. She felt the need to roll up her shirt sleeves, mimicking George's, and felt his eyes over her the whole time.

"I'm not blaming you." He spoke softly again, no bitterness on his voice. "If anything, it was the lack of communication between Mav and I what sunk the ship."

"Oh."

Again, Cassie was at a loss for words. She hadn't expected George to open up to her so suddenly, especially when he had seemed so depressed for the past few weeks but, at the same time, he looked like he had just figured something out, and Cassie wondered if the boy had finally assimilated his breakup with Mavis Berkeley and was moving on. Whatever it was, she felt happy for her friend, even thought there was a little guilt for being the reason of their breakup.

"Cass."

His voice made the redhead stare up at him again, her face slightly serious.

"What?"

George sighed. "Please don't go feeling bad about it, it's not your fault. I didn't say that to blame you or make you feel responsible, but because I needed someone to know. Sorry if it came out the wrong way."

Cassie smiled sheepishly. George knew her well, and the girl was thankful for that, since she had a tendency to feel guilty about everything that had to do with her.

"Shall we go inside?" The boy offered in a fake-pompous accent. Cassie's smile grew wider.

"First you'll have to catch up with me!" She excitedly challenged him, sprinting off towards the castle gates with George close after her.

"That's not fair!" He yelled, as Cassie laughed.

Out of breath, the red-haired girl was the first one to arrive, benefiting from the head start, but George was hot on her tail, the quidditch training he had done for years under Wood's supervision keeping him fit and definitely not out of breath.

"I won." Cassie bragged. "I require a piggy-back ride!"

George smiled and shrugged, crouching so she could climb up.

"Where to, Miss?"

"To the Gryffindor Tower!"

They both laughed as Cassie pointed into the wrong direction and started climbing up the stairs, yelling and laughing the entire time, while ignoring the looks other students sent them. It was their little moment of happiness, and no one was allowed to even try and ruin it.

***

On the following letter to Sirius, Cassie talked to him about Moody. She had been bottling it up for weeks, focusing more on George and exams in order to try and stop feeling anxious over the fact that the teacher knew her secret and the dark warning he had given her. The answer did not take long to arrive, the messy handwriting showing a very concerned Sirius.

_Cassiopeia,_

_You should've told me about this before. If word got out that you are my daughter, things would get pretty dangerous for you. Remember, I'm still a wanted criminal, and there's no doubt that many people would straight away assume that you are a Death Eater or something —maybe even the Ministry would want to interrogate you._

_I wonder why Moody hasn't said anything, if I recall correctly his speciality was catching dark wizards. Maybe Dumbledore has something to do with this. Either way, please stay safe. Do not tell anyone else. Write to me immediately if something happens. Your safety is my number one concern._

_Love, Sirius._

Cassie sighed. Sirius had every right to be concerned; there were many dangerous outcomes if people found out that she was the last of the Black family. She would be branded as a murderer, and maybe even contacted by Death Eaters, since her entire magical lineage had consisted on pure-blood fanatics that agreed with Voldemort. What would her housemates and friends think? Would Angelina, Alicia, Fred and Lee look at her the same? Would George? And what about Kathleen? Things would probably get messy for her, and there was still a year left at Hogwarts.

No, the lie had to go on, at least until Sirius' name was cleared. Too many people knew already, it was risky. Cassie just had to keep under Moody's radar and, once the school year ended and she could go home to Sirius and Remus, things would stabilize.

Or so she hoped.


	21. Twenty

When the day of the third task finally arrived, to say that Cassie felt nervous was an understatement. Exams had just finished, everyone was euphoric because of it, and she felt like she had done mostly well in all of them, but the fact that Harry would have to survive a final, life-threatening task was making her feel more nervous than ever. Sirius had written a dozen letters to each of them, being as concerned as she was, and Cassie had even taught the fourteen-year-old some useful spells from fifth and sixth year, should he need to use them.

At lunchtime, however, there was a new surprise for her. Sitting on the Gryffindor table, next to Harry and Ron, were two new redheads she had only seen once, but never properly met before.

"What are mum and Bill doing here?" Fred, who walked beside her, questioned out loud. George looked surprised as well.

The three of them sat next to their family, along with Ginny, and Cassie received a warm smile from Mrs. Weasley.

"Mom, Bill, this is Cassie." George introduced her, grinning, while the girl gave a polite nod.

"Cassiopeia Moore." She said, her voice an octave higher than usual due to the nerves.

The eldest brother, Bill, who was _very_ handsome in Cassie's opinion, chuckled slightly at her evident nervousness. Once the introductions were made, the seven redheads —including Cassie— and Harry tucked in their food, talking excitedly about the tournament and how their exams had gone, and Cassie felt completely welcome among the Weasleys, understanding the affection that Harry had always demonstrated towards the entire family.

Mrs. Weasley, although slightly scary, was kind and amiable to the girl, taking an interest in her family and personal life without being too intrusive and even showing grief and empathy towards Cassie when she talked about her mother's death in a low voice, while Bill, who was absolutely cool, ended up talking at length about History with her, one of their shared interests.

"Your family is great." Cassie told George once lunch was over and everyone went to their respective lessons. The boy beamed.

"Maybe you can come home for a few days this summer. Harry always does." He suggested, and Cassie felt her heartbeat pick up.

"Really?"

"We will see." George replied, winking at her.

The evening Charms lessons went by in a blur, as well as the free period that came after, and soon every student in Hogwarts found themselves in the Great Hall, enjoying the evening feast previous to the third task, which would take time when the sun fell.

"You'll do well, Harry." Cassie grinned encouragingly to the anxious-looking fourth year, who wasn't eating much. Harry replied with a tiny smile.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now." Dumbledore spoke among the silence that had fallen when he rose to his feet, at the end of the feast.

Everyone in the Gryffindor table wished Harry good luck and cheered for him as the black-haired boy stood up and walked out of the Great Hall, along with the other three champions. He looked dizzy, and Cassie just hoped he would be okay. A hand on her shoulder made the redhead turn around abruptly.

"Harry will be alright." Said Ginny Weasley with a small smile. "He always is."

Cassie smiled back gratefully at the younger girl, who sat right next to her. Five minutes later, everyone started to stand up, led by some teachers and prefects, and walked down to the Quidditch field, where a huge hedge had been planted and stands surrounded it, leaving the field completely unrecognizable.

"I can sense Wood having a heart attack." George whispered behind her, making the girl laugh.

"Already hearing the howler he'll send to Dumbledore." She replied.

Snickering, the two teens sat on the higher part of the stands, next to Fred, Lee, Alicia and Angelina, who had saved seats for everyone. Cassie saw Mrs. Weasley and Bill seated in one of the front rows, with Hermione and Ron. They watched Harry standing next to the other champions, talking to Professor McGonagall, and then Bagman started making a little speech about the points each of the champions had. A whistle blasted in the night and Cedric and Harry entered into the maze, followed a few minutes after by Viktor Krum and, finally, by Fleur Delacour. The four champions were immersed into the task, and the spectators just had to sit back and relax.

"I have to pee."

George snorted, and Cassie glared at him.

"I _really_ have to pee." She complained, standing up.

"Suit yourself, then." The boy snickered and let her pass, while Fred looked at them with amusement. "She has to pee." George told his brother, who stifled a laugh.

Walking amongst the crowd that chatted in the stands, Cassie soon found the exit and the path that led towards the castle and, lighting up her wand with _lumos_ , hurried towards the closest bathroom, cursing whoever decided that apparating was forbidden in Hogwarts' grounds.

"That's better." She muttered to herself once the business had been done.

Adjusting her jumper and shirt, Cassie approached the mirror in the deserted toilet of the first floor, looking at herself. Her hair was slightly messy, but that gave it a casual look, so she decided to leave it like that. After a minute or so of fixing herself up in the mirror and making silly faces, the girl left the room, entering the silent corridor.

"Moore."

Cassie almost had a heart attack. Wand in hand, she quickly turned to whoever had just spoken her name: a dark-haired girl that leaned on the wall next to the toilet door.

"Bloody hell, Kathleen, you scared me." She sighed, relieved. "Why aren't you in the field?"

"I followed you." The Slytherin calmly said.

"Oh. Not creepy at all."

Kathleen glared at the redhead, who was grinning sheepishly at her.

"We need to talk." She straightened up, a stern look over her beautiful features.

"Well, I kind of wanted to see how the task is going..." Cassie trailed off at the stare that Kathleen was giving her, feeling defeated. "Okay, what do you want to talk about?"

Crossing her arms, the Slytherin leaned back on the wall again.

"Don't laugh or anything. It's just something I need to get off my chest."

"Go on."

There was a small silence, making Cassie grow more and more curious, until Kathleen spoke again.

"I tried to let you go. I really did." She started. For the first time since they had known each other, Kathleen was diverting her eyes to the floor, and looked somewhat agitated. "But you are so damn... you. With your bloody smile, and messy hair, and that look you get when something is on your mind. I just can't."

Cassie just stood there, stunned at her ramble. She felt clueless and lost, not knowing exactly what the dark-haired girl was trying to say. However, all her doubts were washed away when, suddenly, Kathleen was but mere inches from her face, and getting closer by the second.

Their lips collided. Cassie was frozen on the spot, clumsily moving her mouth as the other girl was doing, only reacting a few seconds later and placing a hand on Kathleen's waist, deepening the kiss. A fluttering feeling arose on her chest, and she felt her legs tremble. It was nothing like the one she and George had shared the night of the Yule Ball, less angry and hurried, but the warm feeling was still there. Cassie relished on it.

And then, a voice shattered the moment as if it were made of glass.

"What the _fuck_?"


	22. Twenty one

It was as if an electric shock had gone through her body. Startled, Cassie quickly let go of Kathleen's waist, stumbling backwards. The Slytherin looked caught off guard as well, eyes wide as she turned to look at the intruder.

"George..." Cassie muttered, stunned. He was looking straight at her with a mixture of emotions on his face: embarrassment, betrayal and what looked like slight anger. "I can explain..."

"Don't." He cut her off abruptly, turning around and disappearing around a corner.

Cassie sighed, her shoulders shagging and heart sinking. She turned to look at Kathleen, who seemed to be distraught at the exchange.

"I'm sorry. I'd better go after him." She told her, to which the dark-haired girl nodded, understanding, and took off the way George had gone.

However, Cassie didn't find the boy anywhere she looked. Of course, she hadn't gone looking through the entire castle, but he wasn't at the common room or at one of the usual spots he frequented, so Cassie decided that, since it was dark out, she'd better go back to the Quidditch pitch. Maybe George had gone there, to watch the task that was going on. Deep down, Cassie wished he had.

"Hey Cass, where's George? You sure took your time peeing." Fred asked as soon as he saw her walk into their row of the stands. She felt her stomach sink to her feet.

"W-What? You mean he's not here?" Her voice trembled. It was then when Cassie realized how close she was to crying.

Fred looked puzzled.

"Of course he's not. He left a little after you, worried that something might happen since it's dark and all."

A sudden eruption of cheers and movement interrupted their conversation. Bewildered, Cassie turned to the field at the feet of the stands, where two people were laying down, the Triwizard Cup shining beside them. People started walking down the steps, yells were heard everywhere, but something was not right.

"Fred!" Angelina suddenly cried, but her voice was not excited nor cheerful. She sounded frightened, a terrified look in her eyes.

"What's happening?" Lee asked, but no one answered.

Cassie stared stunned at the scene developing on the pitch. Harry was being held by Dumbledore, the two of them talking with the Minister of Magic, but the other person – Cedric Diggory – wasn't moving, still laying on the grass, motionless.

"He's dead." She whispered. "He's dead."

Everyone was talking, screaming, some even crying hysterically. A crowd of people had formed in the field, everyone trying to see what was happening. Things were getting more confusing by the second, and Cassie felt dizzy. She looked directly at Harry, who struggled to stay on his feet, and then narrowed her eyes when a broad shape approached him.

It was Professor Moody.

"What the...?" She turned around to talk to Fred, but saw him comforting Angelina in stunned silence.

Worried about Harry and not trusting Moody at all, Cassie took her own decision. She pushed people aside as she walked down the stands' steps, reaching Dumbledore, who was talking to Fudge, the Minister of Magic. Trying not to look directly at Cedric Diggory's body, Cassie spoke to the headmaster with as much confidence as she could muster.

"Professor Dumbledore, I just saw Professor Moody taking Harry somewhere... Is he alright?"

Realization dawned in the old man's blue eyes as he turned to look at the red-haired Gryffindor. Not saying a word, he fetched Professors McGonagall and Snape, who were standing close-by, and then stared at Cassie again with his piercing gaze.

"Where did he take Harry?" He asked. There was a note of anger in his voice that scared her.

Cassie walked in the direction Moody had gone, towards the castle, followed by the teachers. The four of them hurried past the corridors until they reached the Professor's office. At that point, Cassie had been walking at the back of the group, and wondered if the three adults were even noticing her presence. Nevertheless, all her thoughts went flying through the window when Dumbledore blasted apart the door, throwing Professor Moody to the floor and revealing a very impressed Harry that turned to stare at them.

"Come along, Potter," Professor McGonagall whispered, approaching Harry. "Come along... hospital wing..."

"No," Dumbledore intervened with a sharp voice. The two adults argued as Cassie looked at Harry, who stared at her in confusion.

"I saw Moody take you." She muttered, still feeling pretty shocked, and the boy looked grateful.

"How can it have been Moody?" He spoke in disbelief.

"This is not Alastor Moody." Dumbledore replied. "You have never known Alastor Moody. The real Moody would not have removed you from my sight after what happened tonight. Miss. Moore saw him and so, we followed."

Everyone watched as the headmaster searched inside the limp man's robes and pulled out his flask and some keys, then turning towards McGonagall, Snape and Cassie.

"Severus, please fetch me the strongest Truth Potion you possess, and then go down to the kitchens and bring up the house-elf called Winky. Minerva, kindly go down to Hagrid's house, where you will find a large black dog sitting in the pumpkin patch. Take the dog up to my office, tell him I will be with him shortly, then come back here. Cassiopeia, go with Professor McGonagall and wait at my office as well."

Nodding, the two teachers turned at once and left the office, followed closely by Cassie. Snape looked at her with a small scowl before separating for them, walking down the stairs to the dungeons, while McGonagall and the seventeen-year-old crossed the castle's doors. They didn't share a word in the entire way.

Despite everything that was going on, all the confusion and the tiredness Cassie was starting to feel, she couldn't help the grin that appeared on her face as soon as they saw the black dog waiting for them at Hagrid's hut. Said dog looked happy to see her as well, leaping forwards onto the girl and wagging his tail in all directions. McGonagall looked puzzled at the situation, but didn't say anything and led the two of them towards Dumbledore's office, leaving hurriedly back to the office of fake Professor Moody.

"Merlin's pants, Cassie, what happened?"

The voice of Sirius Black echoed in the otherwise silent room and Cassie, with tears brimming in her eyes, ran to hug her father, burying her face in his chest.

"Everything is wrong... I don't know what happened..." She choked out, full on sobbing. Sirius ran a hand through her hair soothingly.

"Shh, sit down, here." He instructed her, placing a chair so she could rest. "Did something happen to you?"

"No... not to me. But Harry... and Cedric Diggory... oh Sirius, he is dead!"

The black-haired man looked highly concerned, while Cassie just continued sobbing. She felt tired, very tired, and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep and forget everything that had happened during that day.

"Dumbledore will explain everything, I'm sure." Sirius muttered, caressing his daughter's hair.

By the time the headmaster and Harry arrived at the office, Cassie had long fallen asleep, so she was woken up to say a rushed goodbye to Sirius and then went to the Gryffindor common room, where everyone was sleeping.

Looking up at the ceiling, Cassie wondered if things would get back to normal with time. But then again, when had things been normal at Hogwarts?


	23. Twenty two

Cassie didn't sleep much that night. A couple hours since she abandoned Dumbledore's office, she woke up from a freshly new string of nightmares and, deciding that she wouldn't be getting much more sleep, changed from her pyjamas into a set of the school's uniform. No one else was awake in the common room, since it was still night, so she resolved to do the only thing that could get her some answers on what had happened the previous hours – visiting Harry Potter on the hospital wing.

The hallways were eerily silent as the red-haired girl walked hurriedly through them. Sirius had mentioned something about staying with Harry overnight, and she was dying to see him too, to spend more time with her father. About Kathleen and George... well, she would have time to think about it later. The death of Cedric Diggory and whatever had happened with Harry seemed to be far more important at the time, and Cassie sensed that things were about to get much worse.

A door slamming caught her attention. Hiding behind a statue, the girl witnessed the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, leaving the hospital wing and walking downstairs angrily, muttering to himself. Wondering what could have possibly happened, Cassie tiptoed her way to the hospital wing's door and opened it wearily. A group of people were standing at the other end of the room, talking between them, but she quickly recognized one of them.

"Mrs. Weasley?"

Everyone turned at once, surprise written across their faces at the sight of the newcomer. Ron and Hermione were there, as well as Bill and Professor Dumbledore. Half-sitting on the bed, Harry stared at her bewildered, while the big, black dog that rested at the foot of his bed emitted a small bark.

"Miss. Moore, if I recall correctly, you were sent to sleep a couple hours ago." The headmaster said, a sparkle of amusement in his eyes. Cassie stepped closer to them.

"I just had to know what was happening... I couldn't sleep." She justified herself. Dumbledore gave a knowing nod.

"Well, then, there is work to be done. Molly... am I right in thinking that I can count on you and Arthur?" He asked, to which Mrs. Weasley adopted a resolute expression.

"Of course you can."

Tuning out the conversation between Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley, Cassie approached Harry, putting a hand on his shoulder carefully.

"How are you, Harry?" The girl asked him, concerned.

"I've been better." He replied, managing a weak smile. Cassie smiled back as well, crouching then to get closer to the black dog.

"I had to come." She whispered to him. "Couldn't go without saying a proper goodbye."

The dog, which obviously was Sirius in his animagus form, made a sound and nuzzled his head on Cassie's side, while she caressed him. From someone else's point of view, it could seem bizarre, but Cassie had become used to his father being in animal form during the summer.

"Sirius... if you could resume your usual form." The voice of Dumbledore interrupted them, and Cassie separated from her father.

In the blink of an eye, the dog wasn't there anymore, and instead the thin figure of Sirius Black occupied its place, a look of dislike and repugnance clear on his face. Cassie didn't understand it at first, but, following the direction of his glare, she saw Professor Snape with the same disgust mingled with fury showing on his face.

"Sirius Black!" Mrs. Weasley suddenly shrieked, upon seeing the ex-convict appear right in front of their eyes.

"Mum shut up! It's okay!" Ron yelled back, as Cassie stood protectively in front of her father.

As Sirius and Snape glared at each other, Dumbledore asked them to shake hands and stand united, since they were on the same side. By the look on Harry's face, Cassie knew that they were thinking the same – Dumbledore was asking for a near miracle.

The two men shook hands quickly, hatred still written across both their faces, and then Dumbledore turned to Cassie. Snape looked between Sirius and her, the scowl still present on his face, and suddenly realization dawned on him.

"I can't believe Black has a spawn." He drawled; pure hatred mixed with disgust on his voice.

Everyone turned to Cassie. Harry, Ron and Hermione already knew, as well as Dumbledore, but Mrs. Weasley looked utterly shocked. Sirius looped a protective arm around the girl's shoulders, staring defiantly at Snape.

"Now it's not the time for this." Dumbledore intervened, sending a pointed glance at Snape. "I have work for each of you. Fudge's attitude, though not unexpected, changes everything. Sirius, I need you to set off at once. You are to alert Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher — the old crowd. Lie low at Lupins for a while; I will contact you there."

"But..." Harry trailed off. It was clear that he wanted Sirius to stay, but Cassie knew that her father had to do what he could to help the others, so she kept silent, although she had a sad look on her eyes.

"You'll see me very soon, Harry," said Sirius, turning to him. "I promise you. But I must do what I can, you understand, don't you?"

"Yeah," said Harry. "Yeah . . . of course I do."

Motioning to Cassie so she would go with him, the man changed again into his dog shape and leaped through the room, followed by his daughter. She waved a small goodbye to Harry and closed the door behind them.

Sirius, still a dog, walked into an empty classroom. Cassie entered after him, closing the door and muttering a spell that would keep it shut. Then, she turned to her father, who was no longer an animal, and hugged him tight.

"I'll miss you."

"It will only be a few weeks." Sirius muttered, kissing the top of her head. "But yeah, I will miss you too."

Cassie hummed in conformity, giving one last tight hug and separated from him with a small smile that quickly transformed into a serious look.

"Is You-Know-Who really back?" She whispered. Sirius nodded, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I need you to stay safe for now at Hogwarts. Dumbledore said that it might be best for you to leave you out of all this, but you're my daughter, and I want you to know exactly what we're going up against. You-Know-Who is back, and we are going to fight him."

The next month at Hogwarts was full of whispering, speculation and sadness. Cassie patched things up with George; they both were so impressed by what had happened at the Triwizard Tournament that decided to leave in the past whatever drama they had that looked ridiculous at the moment. Kathleen, on the other hand, wasn't so willing to forget about what had happened, and both girls often sneaked to hidden corners to make out and share intimate moments.

Cassie also talked to Harry, not to make him relive all the things that had happened during the night of the tournament but to tell him that she believed everything and was ready to fight. Sirius sent her almost daily letters, some in collaboration with Remus, with whom he was staying, and the weeks passed by in a blur.

Finally, the last day at Hogwarts arrived, and Cassie went to the Great Hall with her friends for the Leaving Feast. A solemn atmosphere reigned in the hall, decorated with black drapes instead of one of the Houses' colours as a signal of respect to Cedric Diggory.

"This has never happened before." Muttered Alicia, sitting beside Cassie at the Gryffindor table. Her eyes were brimmed with red, a signal that she had been crying.

Fred and George were serious too, one of the few times that Cassie had seen them like that. They didn't make any jokes during Dumbledore's speech, and solemnly stood up to honour both Cedric and Harry with their goblets, as the entire Gryffindor table did. By the end of the feast, Cassie had tears pouring down her face. She had never spoken to Cedric before, but death made her sad nonetheless, and the fear for the returning of Voldemort made her tremble.

However, remembering Sirius' words, Cassie felt stronger than ever. She knew that, as long as she had her family and friends by her side, things would be okay.


	24. Epilogue

"Hurry up Cass, the train won't wait for you!" Angelina Johnson yelled through the crowd, waving an arm so the redhead would see her.

"Just a second!" Cassie replied back, a slight grin on her lips.

She turned around, facing the person with whom she had been talking for the past minutes. Kathleen arched an eyebrow and cracked her characteristic smirk, lifting up a hand to place a wild strand of red hair behind Cassie's ear.

"Your hair is growing out." She commented softly. Cassie blushed.

"I think I'll cut it again when I get home." Was her reply. "I'm going to miss you, Kath."

"I'll write, I promise." The brunette gave a genuine smile, and then leaned in for a kiss.

The two girls kissed and embraced each other goodbye and, after giving Kathleen a small peck in the cheek, Cassie walked off with her trunk and backpack, reuniting with her friends.

"Took you long enough!" Alicia exclaimed, and Cassie gave her a small punch in the shoulder as she chuckled.

"Where are the boys?" She asked them, as they jumped into a carriage that would take them to the train.

Angelina shrugged, rummaging through her bag in search of something.

"Last time we saw them, they were talking with Lee. The three of them looked serious, though, I wonder what all that was about." The girl replied absent-mindedly. "Aha! Here it is!"

Alicia and Cassie looked at the issue of _Which Broomstick?_ she was holding with mild curiosity, while Angelina just shrugged and immersed herself in it.

The first half of the trip in the Hogwarts Express passed by quite fast. The three girls got an entire compartment for themselves, so they passed the time talking about quidditch or, in Cassie's case, napping every now and then. By the second half, Lee Jordan joined them, but the twins were nowhere to be seen.

"They wanted to see how Harry and his friends were doing." The boy replied when asked.

There was a moment of silence, until Alicia broke it.

"Anyways, what were you three talking about earlier? You looked pretty serious and all." She questioned, crossing her arms. Cassie lowered the book she was reading and looked at Lee with interest.

"Now that I think of it," the redhead said, "'Fred and George have been acting weird all year. Remember, the thing you told us Angelina, about the money?"

"True." Angelina nodded. "I really hope they aren't in some fishy business..."

Lee let out a nervous chuckle, raising his arms so the girls stopped talking.

"I also thought that too, but it's different." He explained. "Turns out, Ludo Bagman owes them money. All their savings, actually."

Cassie gasped.

"They told me they had bet all their money at the World Cup!"

"They did. And they won. But Bagman paid them in leprechaun gold, so it disappeared, and he still owes them money. Apparently, they have been writing to him all year, and he got all kinds of nasty... long story short, I talked to my dad and he is in the same situation. Bagman is completely broke, lost everything gambling with the goblins, and did run for it right after the third task." Lee explained everything, and the girls just stared, shocked.

"So now the twins are out of money as well?" Angelina questioned, a concerned look on her face.

"More or less. They've started saving again, selling their products and whatnot."

As the conversation turned to the topic of gambling and goblins, Cassie tuned them out and stared out of the window. Sirius had enough galleons to last a lifetime, which were practically hers. She wondered if the twins would accept money from her. They probably wouldn't, being the proud gits they were, she thought with a fond smile.

"We're here!" Lee alerted a while later.

Indeed, the train had reduced its pace and was entering King's Cross station, specifically platform nine and three quarters. There was a blur of movement as everyone stood up, took their trunks, bags and jackets, and struggled to leave the train. Cassie and her friends reunited in the platform, sad that they wouldn't see each other for several weeks but happy to finally have their summer vacation.

"I'll write regularly, I promise." The redhead said with a small laugh as she hugged both Angelina and Alicia.

"You better do!" Angelina threatened, and the three girls laughed. "What? I get bored on holidays!"

Cassie hugged Lee as well, who was less prone to contact, and the four of them bid their last goodbyes, each going to look for their families, who would be waiting at the platform. Not knowing what to do, Cassie lingered where she was for a couple of seconds, until she spotted a familiar cluster of redheads and approached them, trunk rolling behind her.

"Planning on going without saying goodbye?" She startled both Fred and George, appearing behind them.

"If it is our favourite redhead!" Fred exclaimed, ruffling her hair.

"We missed you on the train." Spoke George, half-hugging her.

"I was with Angelina, Alicia and Lee. They didn't dump me, unlike others." Cassie stuck the tongue out at them in a childish manner, as the twins laughed.

"Will a Weasley hug make you feel better?" Fred suggested, opening his arms.

With a laugh, Cassie threw herself into him, feeling George hugging her as well from behind. The characteristic smell of gunpowder that usually surrounded them invaded her nostrils, as well as the typical Weasley smell that she could never decipher. It was on their hugs where Cassie felt more at peace, like the world stopped and she could just stay there for a moment, relishing on the warmth and affection of her friends.

However, all things come to an end, and soon they had broken apart and Cassie was waving them goodbye, as they crossed the barrier with the rest of their family. Little did she know, it wouldn't be long before they met each other again. But for that time, she was already missing them.


	25. Post-credits scene

"I'm not late, am I?"

The familiar voice of Remus Lupin made Cassie turn around, a huge smile on her face. There he was, with his parched-up suit and kind smile, waiting for her in the middle of platform nine and three quarters.

"Remus!"

Cassie embraced the man tightly, having missed him so much the entire year. Remus hadn't changed one bit, only his hair was a little bit more dishevelled and he looked more tired than usual, but the usual warmth and kindness were still there.

"I'm glad to see you." He spoke when they broke apart, taking the trunk that Cassie had left discarded at the side. "Come on, we have things to do."

The redhead took the arm she was offered, in order to apparate properly. Her guess was that they were going to Remus' house, were Dumbledore had instructed Sirius to stay for a while, but, as the scenery blurred and changed around her, she discovered that they were instead apparating to a place she had never been before.

"Remus, where are we?"

They stood in the middle of an empty road, surrounded by old and grimy houses with broken windows and peeling painting on their doors. The neighbourhood didn't seem to be the most welcoming, especially because of the smell of rubbish that Cassie noticed coming from the heaps of bin-bags in front of every house.

"Number twelve, Grimmauld Place." Was the response that came from the man standing next to her. Cassie didn't understand anything at first, until she read the piece of parchment that he was handing her.

_The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London._


End file.
